#they tend to stay out of the road and away from the driveway

[songs-ofa-dyingbird]

I’m not sure what’s normal anxiety and what Isn’t

Like- is it normal to be borderline crying because I have to ask my teacher to email me?

Is it normal to get so nervous my chest hurts every time I pull into the driveway cause I know my cats are out?

Honestly these are my two best examples. I use to get nervous that my food was bad or poisoned but not anymore.

Like- I know there’s an Issue here- but what if it’s just normal anxiety? Possibly I’m just being dramatic

[aylacavebear]

She Thought She was Normal

Time for a little reveal, but only a little...

Story Summary: Maria really thought she was normal, for most of her life. It was normal for people to have natural talent, she would tell herself the older she got. Many things came easy for her, and that was probably how their rivalry began when she was five and he was seven and she met the Winchesters. Little did either of them know that it wouldn't stay like that forever, both having a far larger destiny than they could imagine

Word Count: 3449

Please don't take my work. I'll post warnings for each chapter. Will eventually be 18+!

Warnings: Childhood Rivalry

----------------------------------------- Chapter 5

Over the next four years, she only briefly saw the Winchesters a handful of times, none of them long enough for any sort of challenge Dean could come up with. Although, she and her father visited her Uncle at least once a year, staying a few days each time.

William still hadn’t let her go out on a hunt on her own yet but he did let her start coming with him to help when she turned thirteen. He had picked something easy for her to cut her teeth on, a simple salt & burn. She’d quickly put together the pieces of the case within only a few hours, managing to save a woman’s life in the process. By the time she was fourteen, she was going with him on all his cases, not just doing the research at whatever motel they happened to be staying in. 

“Hey Uncle Bobby,” she said as he greeted them in the driveway one cold November morning.

“You’ve grown munchkin,” he chuckled.

“Tends to happen after four years,” she replied, smirking a little.

Bobby glanced over at William, who just smiled and shook his head a bit, “Your room is still how you left it from the last visit,” he told her.

“God, those cat posters aren’t still hanging up are they,” she asked, groaning slightly.

“I didn’t change anything, if that’s what you’re askin',” he chuckled.

She just shook her head as she went inside. Her Uncle’s house hadn’t changed any, except for the size of the stacks of books, which had grown since her last visit, almost a year ago now. Maria set her bags down on her bed and looked around her room with her hands on her hips. 

“God, I was such a kid,” she mumbled before she began taking down old posters from her childhood.

Maria redid her room, then took a step back, looking satisfied with the outcome. At least it didn’t look like a ten-year-old’s room now. She unpacked her things, knowing they were staying for a week, at minimum. In the middle of setting up her desk with her books, she heard the purr of the Impala outside. She looked toward her closed door, raising an eyebrow. It’d been almost a year and a half since she’d seen them last, slightly curious how they had changed or if Dean was still annoying. She shrugged her shoulders though and went back to setting up her desk. Her father had said she didn’t have to do any lessons today, due to how long they’d been on the road, but she liked her routine and learning. She slipped her blue flannel on, leaving it unbuttoned over her t-shirt to keep her arms warm, finding her Uncle’s a little more chilly than she remembered.

“SIS!!” Sammy yelled as he rounded the corner and barreled into her room, nearly tackling her in a hug.

She laughed hard as she wrapped him up in a hug, then spun him around, “Little brother, I missed you,” she told him happily before she set him back down, ruffling up his hair.

“Stop,” he giggled, pushing her hand away, “How long are you staying?”

“Probably a week. What about you?” she asked, smiling down at him. He was still shorter than she was by a few inches.

“Don’t know. Dad didn’t say,” he replied.

Her smile quickly faded as she turned around and looked in her doorway, almost glaring at him, “Dean,” she said flatly.

“Maria,” he replied, leaning on her doorframe, arms crossed.

“Why do you two act like you hate each other?” Sammy asked, looking between the two of them.

Neither of them spoke, but Dean smirked before he pushed off the wall and went back into the living room. Once he was gone, she looked back over at Sammy and sighed, “I don’t hate him, Sammy. I just think he’s annoying,” she tried to explain.

“Why?” he asked her, tilting his head a bit.

“It’s hard to explain,” she sighed, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

“Can you try?” he asked, still curious.

She glanced up at him, “He always wants to beat me, at everything. I mean, we could work together. He’s really good at a lot of stuff, but…” she trailed off, glancing at her doorway before she continued, “... he thinks girls shouldn’t hunt cause boys are better at it.”

“Is that why he keeps challenging you?” his curiosity getting the better of him.

“You’ve got a lot of questions this time,” she chuckled as she looked into his adorable eyes.

“Sorry sis, curious, that’s all,” he giggled.

“It’s good to be curious, that’s how you learn things. I guess he’s mad, cause I’m a girl and I keep beating him, no matter what he comes up with. It’s not like I’m gonna let him win, then he wouldn’t learn anything. A monster won’t let you win when you go against one, so I won’t just let Dean win either,” she explained, knowing he was old enough now to understand.

“That makes a lot of sense,” Sammy replied as her words sunk in, “So… in a way… you’re helping him get better at hunting,” he concluded.

She chuckled a little, Sammy really was adorable, “Yup, just like my dad taught me.”

The two of them headed back out, Maria went right to the kitchen, looking through what her Uncle had available in the way of food. Thanksgiving was only a few days away and she noticed he’d stocked up on several things for it, making her smile. She grabbed out two packages of chicken, setting them on the counter to defrost for dinner. Then she headed to the cabinets, looking for ingredients for gravy. Again, she smiled to herself and shook her head a bit in disbelief seeing what he’d stocked up on before she headed into the living room.

“You’re the best Uncle Bobby,” she said happily.

“What am I? Chop liver?” her father asked, being playful.

She rolled her eyes playfully, “Maybe I should have said he was the best Uncle then,” she replied, in a bit of a smartass way.

Bobby raised an eyebrow, glancing over at William, “She got mouthy huh?” 

William laughed, “This is nothing, but she knows where the line is.”

Dean rolled his eyes and went outside, wanting nothing to do with her. He was sixteen now and all hormones but all he saw when he looked at her was that annoying five-year-old that had beat him in a challenge of throwing a rock at a target almost ten years ago. He didn’t want to be at Bobby’s for a week because she was there. 

“What’s up with Dean?” William asked John after Dean had gone outside.

“He’s sixteen and according to Sammy, Maria is his rival, since they were five. He’s mad he can’t beat her at anything,” John chuckled.

William glanced at his daughter before he looked back at John, “She won’t let him win John.”

“I know,” he said plainly, “I hope she never does. It’ll teach him to get better. Hone his skills.”

William thought about what John said and sighed, “You’ve got a point there.”

“I pulled out dinner,” Maria interjected, as respectfully as she could, as it had been one of the reasons she’d gone into the living room.

“Oh? Whatcha cookin this time?” Bobby asked her, leaning back in his chair.

“Chicken with mashed potatoes, homemade gravy, and probably corn, and thank you, for having all the ingredients already,” she replied, smiling.

“Well, what kind of Uncle would I be if I didn’t keep those things on hand, knowing you’d be coming by?” he asked her.

She knew he was being playful, but she also had those teenage hormones going through her as well, they just came out differently, “Probably the worst uncle ever,” she replied, quite the smartmouth.

Sammy was shocked by what she’d said but didn’t say a word, the adults just chuckled, “Mouth,” her father said, somewhat sternly.

“Sorry, Pappa, and I’m sorry Uncle Bobby,” she said quietly, realizing her mouth had run away again, “I’m gonna go work on my lessons.”

“Get something to eat first,” her father told her, to which she nodded.

She cursed at herself in her head as she made herself a sandwich before taking it to her room to eat. It was her biggest issue, her mouth, and some of the things that came out of it. Maria didn’t have emotional issues or confidence issues. Well, she hadn’t had them before. This visit was going to change that for her in ways she wouldn’t fully understand until she was much older. She had a mouth on her, even if she didn’t cuss, not yet anyway. William had pondered a lot on how Alarra would have handled it, although, he couldn’t think of a way other than reminding her when it happened. Maria read one of her books on lore while she ate her sandwich, not wanting to interact with the adults at the moment. Since she had hit thirteen, she wanted more and more alone time, even away from her father. 

“Have any more of her powers surfaced?” Bobby asked William quietly since Sammy had headed outside to wherever his brother had gone.

“No, but she’s perfected the few she does have, so heads up on that,” William warned them.

“So, no sneaking up on her then?” John asked.

“Nope. She knows when you get about fifteen feet away now,” William explained.

“Dean’s not gonna like that one,” John chuckled.

“Is it a hearing thing or can she just sense someone’s presence?” Bobby asked.

“I think it is more of sensing someone’s presence. She’s been using it over the last year, going out on hunts with me,” William answered.

“She’s been killing things for the last year?” Bobby asked, not sure what to think of a thirteen-year-old hunting, even with her father.

“Yup, and she’s really good at it. Hell, she saved my neck a couple times now,” William replied, smiling a little as he thought back.

“Damn,” John almost exclaimed, slightly surprised.

The boys came back into the house and went straight for food. Dean was thankful that Maria wasn’t around. He’d still been thinking of another challenge he could win. Dean had attempted to convince his dad to let him challenge her to a race with the Impala and the truck, but his dad had put a stop to that one. He also had no intention of repeating any of their past challenges. The adults quickly changed the topic, hearing the boys in the kitchen. Maria just rolled her eyes from her room, deciding not to take care of her plate yet, knowing Dean was in the kitchen.

“It’s gonna be a long week,” she mumbled, flipping the page in her book.

She came out around four so she could start dinner, determined not to let Dean ruin something she enjoyed. When she went to use the sink so she could wash the chicken, she saw the boys’ dishes from lunch still sitting there. 

“Dean! Sammy!” she hollered from the kitchen, trying not to sound as pissed as she felt.

Sammy came running, but Dean hadn’t budged from where he sat in the living room, “You okay sis?” Sammy asked her.

She instantly calmed down hearing him, “Hey, thought we had an agreement when we were here together,” she said after she turned to look at him, managing a soft smile, “Remember, you keep up on your dishes so I can cook dinners?” she asked, sounding nicer than when she had yelled for him.

“Sorry sis,” he replied, feeling bad that he’d forgotten.

Sammy went over and washed up his dishes as Maria just glared at Dean, who was sitting in a chair in the living room, right in her line of sight, “DEAN!” she yelled again.

“What?” he replied as if he had no clue what her problem was.

“How come you left your dishes in the sink?” she asked, trying to keep her temper under control. 

“Cause I felt like it,” he said, not even looking over at her.

At that, she smirked, “Okay, well I don’t feel like cooking for you tonight then. You can have something else.” she said in that smartmouth tone of hers and turned back to the sink.

Dean was stubborn, but so was she. He just sat there, the three adults looking over at him, none of them saying a word. They would let the two of them work out their differences but at the same time, they were going to let Maria dictate this one. There was plenty of food in the house and if Dean wanted to be as stubborn as he was, he was going to have to deal with the consequences of his stubbornness.

Maria washed the dishes Dean had left in the sink, as she needed the space to cook, but it also meant he had no way of being able to eat what she was cooking that night. When she got to the potatoes, Sammy wanted to help her, so she let him peel them while she cut them up and got them ready to boil. A half-hour later, the aroma of the baked chicken began filling the kitchen as she stirred the boiling potatoes. 

“How much longer sis? I’m starving,” Sammy practically whined as he wandered back into the kitchen.

“About thirty more minutes,” she replied before she turned to him, “Wanna help me set the table?”

“Sure,” he replied excitedly.

She giggled a little seeing his excitement at something so simple, which made her love cooking more than she already did. Maria handed things to Sammy from the higher cabinets that he couldn’t reach and he set the table for everyone. 

“Will you stir the gravy while I mash the potatoes?” she asked Sammy, knowing how much he loved to help her.

“Definitly,” he said with a huge grin.

By now the aroma of the baked chicken had made its way into the living room, even getting to the adults. Dean’s stomach growled at how good it smelled, which only annoyed him further. Maria put the mashed potatoes on the table before finishing up the corn and gravy. That was when she pulled the chicken out of the oven, smiling proudly as she set the pan on the pot holder in the middle of the table.

“Dinners done,” she hollered before turning off the stove and sitting down across from Sammy, who had been trying to wait patiently for the last twenty minutes. 

They all joined her in the kitchen sitting down at the table, even Dean. She raised an eyebrow, watching him carefully. John put some of everything on Sammy’s plate while Bobby and William set up their plates before she did hers. The moment Dean reached for the chicken, she smacked his hand.

“Hey, what the hell was that for?” he said, annoyed, pulling his hand back.

“Mouth,” John said in a low, deep tone, glancing up at his oldest son.

“You didn’t take care of your lunch dishes, you don’t get what I cooked. We had an agreement,” she explained calmly.

“It’s Bobby’s house, you don’t make the rules,” Dean retorted.

“Boy, she cooked, she makes the rules for the meal she made, and she never asks for more than you boys keeping up on your dishes,” Bobby told him sternly.

“Oh come on!” Dean exclaimed, quite annoyed as he threw his hands up.

“Son, she warned you before she started. Go find something else to eat,” John told him, just as sternly as before.

Dean went to open his mouth but quickly thought better of it. Maria wasn’t even smug about it. Part of her felt bad that he wasn’t going to get any but really she was more hurt than anything that he wanted to break his word to her, about their agreement. In the adult's eyes, it wasn’t much to ask for from her. She didn’t have to cook, she’d wanted to. Maria was fairly good at keeping her emotions out of her expression and the last thing she wanted was for Dean to see that he’d hurt her feelings. She ate mostly in silence as Dean ate two decent-sized meat sandwiches, everyone else praised her on the meal she’d made.

There wasn’t much to put away when everyone was done eating. She’d gone to clean up when John stopped her, setting his hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him, “We got clean up tonight,” he smiled down at her, “You’re an amazing cook, by the way.”

She smiled a little, “Thanks Uncle John,” she replied before she headed to her room.

Maria made it halfway through the living room before Sam tackled her with a hug from behind, “Dinner was AMAZING!” he exclaimed, squeezing her tighter.

“Okay Sammy, but I’d like to keep my dinner in my stomach,” she told him through his grip.

He quickly let her go, “Sorry, it was just really good. I miss your cooking when you aren’t around,” he told her.

“Maybe, when we’re older, we can hang out more and I can cook for you,” she told him, knowing it probably wouldn’t happen, not with them all being hunters. It was a nice dream though, and dreams were something she felt Sammy needed.

Dean just glared at her as she walked to her room, “And don’t get into the leftovers Dean. I know how much was left,” she told him without looking over her shoulder, to which he just scoffed.

She got her night chores done before she went back to the book she’d been reading, more things on witchcraft. Some of it was boring but she got through it nonetheless, knowing that even the boring stuff could be useful, depending on the witch. After the adults were asleep though, she slipped out of her room to go look through Bobby’s new books that she had taken note of earlier in the day.

Maria was quiet, even on the hardwood floor as she walked over to the stack of books near his desk. She picked up one on sigils, werewolves, vampires, and even the one on angels she’d read four years ago. Dean watched her from where he was lying on the living room floor, staying completely still, wondering what the hell she was doing. She looked over the pile of books he had stacked in the corner. There was an obscure book that she could only see the corner of but was drawn to it. She set her small stack of books down on the corner of his desk before she carefully, yet quietly, moved the books so she could retrieve the one she was after. Maria stacked the books back up the way they were before she set that one on top of her stack and made her way back to her room. 

Dean quietly slipped out of his makeshift bed and followed her but he only made it to the hallway before she closed her door. He smirked, deciding to use this to his advantage, finally having something to hold over her.

In her room, she plopped down on her bed and looked at the top book, the one she’d been drawn to. It had an odd symbol on the cover. It was a circle that took up most of the cover with another circle close to it. Inside the circle were triangles that all pointed down and outward, away from the top and center. She ran her fingers over the image that was slightly raised off the cover, smiling a little. She set the other books to the side of her and opened it, finding it simple to read, having no clue that it was in another language.

Another two hours passed before she even realized it, “Shit…” she whispered, looking over at the clock, seeing that it read midnight, “Dad’s gonna kill me if he finds out I was up this late.”

She quickly stashed the books behind her bag, under her bed before she turned off her lamp and crawled under the covers. Maria didn’t even feel tired but sleep soon found her. Dreams of white hallways lined with doors, each leading to a different place, and a room with what looked like a white throne and white bench seats around the outside of the room played through her mind. She saw what looked like people but they didn’t feel like people and none of them could see her. They were just moving around, doing whatever job it was they were doing. 

----------------------------------------- Chapter 6 - When Dreams Are Too Real

Tag List @deans-spinster-witch @kazsrm67

Link to the master list for this story.

[guilty-pleasures21]

Chapter 5 - the opera

Part A

Part B

Part C

Warnings: none.

----------------------------------------------------------

     She glanced up from her embroidery when she heard the sound of a carriage pulling into their driveway. She set her cloth aside, tucking the needle carefully into it so it wouldn’t get loose, then she rushed to join the rest of her family at the door. 

     “Pavitr!” Lord Singh exclaimed, greeting his nephew with a hug when he stepped out of the carriage. “How was your journey?” 

     The young man flashed his uncle a tired smile. 

     “Exhausting,” he admitted truthfully, “but I am so grateful that you have given me a place to stay, Mamaji.” The tension between the foreigners and the natives in British-occupied India had been escalating in recent months, so his mother had asked her brother if he would be willing to let her son stay with him for a while. Lord Singh waved away his nephew’s thanks as he led him into their house. 

     “You are always welcome here, Pavitr,” he reassured him, patting him gently on the back. “Come, have some cha (tea) and take some rest. The servants have already prepared your room and I am sure your cousins will be happy to show you to it.” 

     “Sat sri akal, Veerji (Greetings, older brother)!” Anjali exclaimed, wrapping Pavitr in a hug as he stepped through the entryway. “It is wonderful to see you again!” 

     They had not been back to India since they had moved to London eight years ago, but their aunt, uncle and cousin had visited them once before, leaving them with fond memories of their extended family. Pavitr returned Anjali’s hug with a delighted grin. 

     “You too, Anjali,” he agreed before turning to Rohan next. His eyes widened with surprise when he saw how tall his young cousin had grown. “Hai Raba (Oh my God)! You could probably see all the way to Punjab, Rohan!” 

     Rohan chuckled and bent over to give Pavitr a brief hug in greeting. “It is good to see you too, Veerji. How are Bhuaji and Fufarji (aunty and uncle)?”

     “They are doing well,” Pavitr replied, his bright expression faltering as he thought about his parents back home. “How have you guys been?”

     “All right,” Rohan shrugged, taking a step back so X could take her turn to greet their cousin. Then suddenly, he remembered the most exciting piece of news to happen as of late. “Oh! Penji just had her debut the other night. The whole town was practically knocking down our door yesterday morning!” 

     Pavitr’s eyes lit up with excitement and he turned his attention to X when she pulled away. 

     “Really?” he asked, eager to find out more. “Anyone catch your eye, Penji?” 

     X rolled her eyes as her lips twisted up at the ends in amusement. 

     “It has barely been a week, Pav,” she pointed out calmly. “I have time.” 

     Except that she didn’t - well, Miguel didn’t have time. X felt her stomach tighten with nerves at the reminder of the façade she’d agreed to put on for his sake. But she didn’t need to burden her cousin with that right now. “But enough about me! We can catch up later. Let us show you to your room!” 

     Gabe jogged down the steps to the carriage where his brother was already tending to the horses. He looked up and his gaze landed on their neighbour’s house across the road. They’d been to the opera a few times together after X had begged Miguel to bring her along: she didn’t understand Italian, so she’d always sit right by him, right where he could lean over and murmur the translations into her ear. “Miguel, have you-”

     But that had been before she’d come of age; before she’d become a viable prospect whom his brother couldn’t seem to take his eyes off anytime she stepped into a room. So perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to bring her along to a darkened theatre where the two of them would be trapped next to one another in intimately close proximity for three hours. Miguel looked up at his brother, waiting for him to finish his sentence and Gabe pursed his lips as he tried to come up with a different question instead. “Uh … Tied your shoe? I … don’t want us to be late …” 

     He trailed his sentence off into an awkward chuckle and Miguel’s expression turned even more suspicious. 

     “My shoes are fine …” he replied carefully. “And I think we will make it perfectly on time, brother.” He turned around to get into the carriage and Gabe rushed down the rest of the stairs, desperately trying to stop his brother from seeing X as she walked out of her house. But he was too late. 

     A comfortable warmth filled his chest when he saw his neighbour. She was clothed in a pale lavender dress that swirled around her ankles as she walked out of her house. He waved at her to try to get her attention, but she was too absorbed by her conversation with her family, her sweet features lit up with delight as she chatted to them excitedly. Miguel turned back to Gabe and gestured across the road. “I will ask X if she would like to join us.” 

     Gabe flashed his brother an awkward smile, just managing to conceal his defeated sigh: it was going to be a long night. 

     Pav tugged on the collar of his shirt, allowing himself a little more space to breathe. 

     “These outfits seem … unnecessarily fancy,” he pointed out, keeping his tone light so no one would take offence at his complaint: they had offered him a safe place to stay, after all, he should be grateful for their generosity. Rohan shrugged as he walked towards their carriage. 

     “At least they keep the cold out.” 

     X smiled at the way her brother’s easy manner put their cousin at ease: she’d noticed how careful Pav was with his words, always thinking twice before speaking his mind around them. But she didn’t want him to spend his time with them walking on eggshells and constantly policing himself to make sure he didn’t unintentionally offend anyone: that was the exact reason for which he’d left India, after all. 

     “Lady X!” She startled as the familiar voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “Might you be on your way to the opera?” 

     X turned to find the owner of the voice and her heart gave a little flutter when she saw Miguel approaching her. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from reciprocating the wide grin on his face, but she did allow herself a polite smile of greeting. “Lord Miguel. We are indeed paying a visit to the opera. And yourself?”

     “We are heading there as well,” Miguel revealed, feeling his heart speed up at the thought of accompanying her to the opera. “For the eight o’clock show, I take it?” 

     X opened her mouth to respond, but was immediately interrupted by her sister. 

     “Lord Miguel!” Anjali exclaimed, rushing over to join their conversation. “How lovely to see you! Are you off to the opera?” 

     She leaned to the side, sneaking a glimpse of Miguel’s carriage, then she turned back to him with an expectant look on her face. 

     “Yes,” Miguel confirmed, amused by Anjali’s inexplicable enthusiasm. “I was just asking X if-”

     “Wow!” Pav gasped, scurrying up to the group to take in Miguel’s broad and towering form. “You’re as big as an ox, Sir! I bet you could plough fields all on your own!” 

     Miguel furrowed his brows at the unfamiliar young man, unsure how to respond to such a comment. “Uh …” 

     “Oh! Miguel, this is our cousin, Pavitr,” X introduced him. “He has come to visit us from Punjab. He will be staying with us for a while.” 

     She shot him a meaningful look, silently conveying to him that the matter was a sensitive topic, and Miguel nodded in understanding. “Nice to meet you, Pavitr.” 

     “And you as well, Sir,” Pavitr replied, shaking Miguel’s outstretched hand enthusiastically. X flashed Miguel an embarrassed look, but he returned it with a warm smile that immediately eased the tension from her body. 

     “So, will you be joining us at the opera today, Pavitr?” Miguel asked. Pav’s features lit up at the question. 

     “Oh, yes! I have never been to an opera before! Although I have been told that everything is in Italian.” His brow furrowed with anxiety and Miguel quickly waved his concerns away. 

     “That is all right. If you don’t mind riding in the carriage with me and my brother, I could explain some of tonight’s story to you on the way over?” he offered. Pavitr turned to X in question, a hesitant expression on his features. 

     “You are perfectly safe, Pavitr,” Miguel added quickly, instantly understanding the reason behind his unease. “X and I have known each other since we were children. I am sure she trusts me with your safety.”

     “Oh! Yes! Of course!” X agreed. She gestured to Miguel’s large and imposing frame, trying to stop her eyes from lingering on the outlines of his muscles pressing against his shirt. “ I mean, you said so yourself: he could probably take down an ox.” 

     Goodness! Whatever could have possessed her to say something so silly?! She forced out an awkward laugh as she glanced between the two men, then she straightened her features again when neither of them joined in. “But anyway! Let us make haste before we arrive late.” 

     She nodded at each of them in turn, then rushed into her own carriage. Miguel’s lips curled at the ends as he watched her skitter away and his chest warmed at how cute she was whenever she got embarrassed. She’d started being embarrassed around him a lot lately, if he really thought about it. Though he couldn’t figure out a possible reason for her to-

     “Er, shall we go, Sir?” Pav asked, clearing his throat when the silence had stretched on for a little too long. 

     “Oh! Right, yes.” Miguel forced all thoughts of his neighbour out of his mind and turned around to lead Pav over to his carriage. “But please, ‘Miguel’ is fine.” 

     “All right, Miguel,” Pav replied, bouncing after him obliviously.

Continue

[lincolndjarin]

fuck it, oh honey ch 3 teaser

i really like how this chapter is coming along so far so here’s a little sneak peek !! no release date yet bc these chapters tend to be so long lol

“I hope you don’t mind, we’ve got a little company tonight.” He raises his eyebrows at you, closing the door before you can ask any questions, when he pulls himself up into the driver's seat you open your mouth to ask but he speaks first, turning to stare into the back. “Do you know who this is, little monster?” He turns the cab light on and you see Ellie strapped into her car seat. She appraises you for a moment before all of her limbs straighten out as she yells.

“Girlfriend!” She shrieks and you smile for the first time in a long time as Joel gives you a lopsided grin.

“We worked on that the whole way over, she was supposed to say your name but that’s close enough.” He gives her a mock look of disappointment that has her bursting into a fit of laughter as he turns the light off, pulling away from the camper and back onto the road. Joel turns up the radio, both of you sit quietly as Ellie sings along behind you, making up her own words to a pop song you vaguely recognize. “Hope you don’t mind.” He reaches over, taking your hand while the other stays on the wheel. “I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with her this week.” He nods towards the back as you smile politely.

“I don’t mind at all.” It’s more than true. You’re rather fond of Ellie. He gives your hand a small squeeze and when you look his dimple is prominently visible on his face.

It’s a ten minute drive to his house.

It doesn’t even look like he has neighbors. He pulls into a driveway you hadn’t seen and tucked into the trees is a small ranch style house. You don’t know what you were expecting. Maybe something a little more sinister? But this is quite lovely, lots of space in an outcropping in the trees, a pretty cream colored house with dark oak accents and a tire swing hanging from a nearby tree.

Secluded.

You step out, staring at the pretty little place as he unbuckles Ellie, who immediately breaks into a sprint when he sets her on the ground, running up onto the porch and jumping to grab at the door knob.

“S’locked, honey.” He yells as he takes your hand, chuckling while he retrieves the key from his pocket. “She’s been excited since I told her we were gonna have you over, she loves showin’ people the house.” You both step up onto the porch as Ellie stares at him impatiently.

“What a lovely house you have, miss Ellie.” You crouch down in front of her as she gives you a grin, she’s much less shy around her father.

[luna-andra]

The Shadows Return | Simon 'Ghost' Riley x OC Retired AU | Chapter 2: Daylily

Summary:

Lieutenant Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley retired from the forces; Task Force 141 was decommissioned once they completed their last mission. Take down Shepherd. Everyone on the team stayed in touch, as well as the other comrades they met along the way. Los Vaqueros. KorTac. And many others. Shadow Company - what remained of it - slipped under the shadows and scattered themselves into the wind. Riley made the decision not to return back to Manchester. He was only less than 30 minutes away on the outskirts in Disley. Soap had put in a good word for Ghost with a local mechanic shop, and having nothing else but military experience and some basic mechanic skills he accepted it.

It was a quiet life, at least that’s what he thought. He started recognizing signs that he was being followed, watched. Maybe it was just the PTSD making him believe it. Until it got so much worse when he became acquainted with his neighbor miles down the old dirt path road, he realized that he would never be free from his past life.

Soap & Andra meet, and Ghost is tired of his shit 😁

CONTENT WARNING: Violence, eventual smut, MDNI (18+), slow burn, fluff, mentions of mental health

Word Count: 3k

The next morning Andra woke up earlier than usual to complete chores around the farm a little bit earlier. Crops tended to, animals fed, pens cleaned and eggs collected. Sammy, her full-sized German Shepherd, always enjoyed following her around outside, prancing and teasing the farm animals. She was darting straight for the rooster pens, ready to rile them up. Sammy looked back at Andra, tongue hanging from her wide-smiling face and she shooed Sammy away to keep them from causing too much noise. Now that she was aware of her neighbor’s existence, she was cautious if he could hear the morning commotion coming from her lands. He never brought it up when they talked yesterday, not that he really talked very much. 

With the morning chores completed, Andra shuffled back inside and collected a thank-you basket she put together; some of her harvested crops, garlic, bundles of herbs, summer vegetables, and a small container of strawberries. She hoped that he didn’t have any food allergies, the last thing she wanted was to kill him by allergic asphyxiation. Ghost didn’t seem like the type to indulge in sweets too often; his physique was proof that he took care of himself very well. 

Andra secured the basket tightly to her bicycle rear, locked up the house with Sammy inside and peddled off down the dirt driveway. The morning sunrise was a sight she would never get tired of, the sky bled beautiful hues of pink and orange as the sun peeked over the horizon. A complimenting sight to pair with the fresh, morning dew smell greeting her senses. The wind combed through her hair as she peddled down the road. Ghost’s mailbox came into view, and she took the left turn that led her to his house.

He lived in a modest countryside home; an L-shaped cottage, faced with bisque-colored cobblestone, and a large metal, mismatched shed sat on the right-hand. There were two trucks parked out front, both of them darning the same company logo of the mechanic shop, both of them completely identical to one another. Did he have company over? An apprehensiveness started bubbling in her belly; she didn’t want to bother him if it wasn’t a good time. She decided she would just drop it off, and call later about her truck.

Andra pressed on the brakes with a back-pedal and parked her bicycle against the front porch. It looked like it was painted recently, within the past few months. Did he take care of things around the house himself? An image of Ghost kneeling down, wearing a spare faded tee and worn out blue jeans, brushing a new coat of paint as his other arm rested on his knee flooded her mind. It was really domestic, something she shook her head at as embarrassment washed over her for thinking of her neighbor like that. 

Upon further inspection as she scanned her eyes around the quaint home, the stark contrast of a surveillance camera reared its lens down onto the walkway, following up the porch. When she walked up the two steps onto the wooden landing, there was another one on the opposite end, giving the lens a wide view of the entire porch. She looked away immediately, instantly feeling like he was keeping close watch on the cameras at all times. How many more were there? She frowned, flustered by the negligence for not taking caution of her surroundings. At least he had his basis covered, and who knew how much more equipment he had set up. 

Before she could knock on the door, it was pulled open by the unknown visitor, tall like Ghost but leaner. He was conventionally attractive, stubble peppered along his face and his hair shaved, leaving a short-cropped mohawk. He flashed an eager smile to Andra. “You’re the lass from the mechanic shop, eh?” His Scottish accent threw her off.

She blinked a few times, not expecting to be greeted this way. “Have we met?” Of course they hadn’t, but she wasn’t sure what else to say at that moment.

He laughed lightheartedly. “Saw you sittin’ in the lobby.”

“Oh,” she came to the conclusion that the second truck belonged to the man. “I was hoping to drop this off for Ghost? I’m his neighbor from down the road, he helped me in a pinch-”

Ghost came around from a corner from inside the house, mask over his face once again. Her stomach did a flip when she realized Ghost was wearing something painfully similar to what she imagined him in not even 2 minutes ago. Shame made itself a home like a rock in her stomach, and she hoped he couldn’t see it on her face. 

His presence had Andra going quiet. Thankfully his friend seemed like the talkative type.

“You couldn’t even give her yer first name, Ghost? Makin’ her go by your call sign? What’s next, she’ll be calling you LT.” Ghost cut him off, sounded like he was barking orders at him. 

“That’ll do.” The man was amused with how Ghost glared at him through the mask, and witnessed how Andra’s cheeks turned a faint glow of pink.

She gave twin glances at the two of them. “You served together?”

“Sure did,” the man answered. “Call me Johnny.”

Ghost didn’t look particularly happy with Johnny declaring a first-name basis with Andra. She exchanged pleasantries with Johnny, introducing herself as well. “I was telling Johnny that I was bringing this to you. I didn’t mean to intrude on your company.” Ghost took the basket cautiously out of her small hands. Their fingers touched briefly, and they both recoiled back from each other, like when you touch something with an electric charge.

“I was about to head out, anyway.” He pointed out her American accent, “You’re on the wrong side of the pond, aren’t you?”

Andra exhaled a soft laugh, “I moved here not too long ago.” She rethought about how long it had been since her move. “It’ll be five years in November, yeah.”

“Fascinating, we got out about the same time frame.”

Something about Johnny’s response made Ghost tense up, Andra could notice it just from a side glance. 

Johnny took a peak at the thank-you basket. He plucked a strawberry and took a bite and gave a satisfied hum. “You grew these?”

Andra nodded with a grin. “I sell my crops Sunday morning at the farmer’s market.”

Johnny made another delighted sound, polishing off the rest of the berry. He continued his onslaught of curious questions, asking how she got into growing her own crops. It wasn’t something she started with right away; she worked two jobs for the longest time until she tried her hand at growing food. It worked out for her really well. “Ever since I started selling locally, I left those two jobs and it’s been good. I just bought hens and roosters last year.” 

She loved talking about the passion she found in self-sustainability, but she was a little worried that Ghost was bored of hearing the both of them go back-and-forth. The way his eyes scanned her, then looked back to him, it wasn’t comfortable for him. Bored, or did he want her to get off of his porch?

Once their chit-chat died down, Ghost spoke up. “Got an update on your truck. I managed to find a supplier that can send the parts to us in 3 weeks.”

Andra sighed with relief. “That’s good to hear, I’ll have to see if I can rent something in the meantime..”

“Don’t bother spending your money, Ghost is free on Sundays and can drive you to the farmer’s market,” Johnny volunteered cheerfully.

The death stare Ghost gave him even sent chills down Andra’s spine, but she was fighting the grin threatening to spread on her face. Ghost really had his work cut out for him when it came to this friendship. “It’s okay, really. I can figure it out.”

Ghost looked back to Andra, the rage dissipating from his cold eyes. “I’ll send you the invoice.”

“Perfect,” she nodded. “I’ll leave you two be. Nice meeting you Johnny.” She smiled before she stepped down off the porch, gripping the handles on her bicycle and hopped on. Her smile stayed with her the whole way home.

----

Ghost waited for her to disappear out of view before punching Soap in the arm. “The shit, Simon.” Johnny hissed through his teeth at the now tender spot, knowing it would leave a bruise.

“You’re helping her next Sunday,” Ghost growled.

“There you go again, avoiding anyone new comin’ into yer life,” Soap retorted.

Ghost walked back into the house, sauntered towards the kitchen to place the basket on the kitchen counter. “She moved here the same time we got out of service. You noticed that?”

Soap followed him and stood in the threshold of the kitchen, leaning into the doorway. “I heard.” There was a pregnant pause, and Ghost knew what was coming next. “Have you been going to your appointments?”

“Yes, I fucking have. Have you?” Ghost snapped, aggression laced in his words. He hated being accused of being overly paranoid, of all people Soap would know that. What Ghost failed to mention is that the appointments were filled with sullen silences, the same procedural questions that start with are you currently a danger to yourself or those around you? Are your emergency contacts up to date? Do you have access to the suicide hotline? He gathered the patience to practice grounding techniques when his panic attacks reared its ugly head during a session, and even then he was close to getting up and walking out. If you want this to work for you, for you to make progress, you have to put in the work as well Dr. Smith chastised him during the last session. Ghost knew he was right, but all he could manage to share is the symptoms of what he experiences, how much sleep he is getting, things that are affected by the PTSD. 

“I have been seeing the psych, I have been taking my meds.” He didn’t care to elaborate how much this bothered him, but Johnny was always able to pick up on his energy.

Soap shook his head. “She doesn’t deserve to have to deal with your paranoia. Get your shit straight. I’ll go ahead and help her next Sunday, but I don’t want you getting into yer head about this.” He turned away once he realized Ghost was finished talking to him about it. “See you at work.”

All of the alarms were going off in Ghost’s head, but knowing Soap wasn’t feeling the same way should have given him the reassurance he needed. Should have . Ghost wanted to be wrong, so wrong about every paranoid thought he had about her. Because Soap was right, she didn’t deserve his fucked up delusions of grandeur.

----

Andra spent the better half of her morning calling and researching online about different car rental companies for her temporary vehicle. She ran out of places pretty quickly to look into, being in a small town and all. Every agent informed her that they only had small compact vehicles, their trucks were all scheduled out for the next month or so.

She deflated back into her couch, letting out a defeated sigh. So much for that. Andra glanced at her phone, pressing the lock button to take a look if she had received any messages. She spotted the skull emoji before she read the name Ghost registered in her mind. “New message.”

It was an attachment of the invoice for the transmission repair, no other text included. She reviewed it, looking at the itemized statement and groaned. She was telling the truth when she said it wouldn’t be a problem paying the lump sum, but the idea of forking up that amount all at once was moderately painful. Andra dropped the phone back onto the coffee table beside her laptop that displayed an obscene amount of tabs on the browser. Her hands tried to rub the stress from out of her face, but the way her brows tensed up and stayed there, she groaned.

Sammy’s wet nose nudged at her elbow, requesting attention and pets innocently. Andra redirected her attention to the sweet shepherd, smiling as she gave her an invigorating rub down. “We’ll be okay, girl.” It sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than her blissfully unaware companion. Internally, she cursed the universe for placing her into a human meat sack rather than a cuddly fur baby. Lucky animals.

Andra picked her phone back up and decided to respond to Ghost’s message. 

Thanks for the invoice, I’ll go ahead and get that paid now.  

She didn’t really expect Ghost to message back, even though she was hoping he would. That’s weird, why did she want him to text back? Andra adjusted herself on her couch as she over analyzed the initial thought. She’s been so wound up about the truck and figuring out how to make it to the Sunday markets that now her mind was making her take time to pick it apart. Was she just longing for community? And now that she’s been presented with an opportunity to make connections and friends, she’s desperate to seize it? 

Sure, looking for friends the way you looked at his arms… she shook her head. 

Andra wasn’t the type of person to double text, but she knew if she didn’t let him know now, she would forget later.

I am shit out of luck with finding a rental truck. 

Ugh. Asking for help was as painful as pulling teeth for her. Growing up back in the states, the “village” that everyone swore was a thing, helping your neighbors, raising children together instead of mother and father pushing through it, was nonexistent. The village, the one she became a hermit in, in a different country was proving to be more helpful than her own blood. Ghost didn’t have to help her, nor did he protest when Johnny volunteered on his behalf. Maybe it was time to stop refusing the help, stop trying to push everyone away in fear of being let down. Make the best out of the crappy hand she was dealt with to grow her village.

Her notification bell pulled her out of her thoughts. The ghost emoji appearing on the screen followed with:

You can count on us. Just give me the details and we’ll be there Sunday.

Ghost’s response made her smile to herself. You can count on us. 

Soap offered to pay for lunch, so Ghost took him up on that offer. They drove down the street to the chip shop they frequented for lunch most days. Always ordering to-go so they could sit out in the tinted truck to avoid watchful eyes from looking at him. The cashier was familiar with their faces (Johnny’s face and Ghost’s mask) and knew that they never ordered anything new. She was a younger girl, always giving pretty eyes to Soap, and he would entertain it with a wink sometimes. But he was smart not to shit where you eat and never progressed their interactions past that. 

The two slid back into their respective seats in the truck, settling in with food in hand. Ghost slipped his mask up above his jaw, just enough to uncover his mouth. He was relieved when the topic of Andra never came back up, they just bitched and moaned about monotonous work tasks in between their meals. 

Silence hung between him as Ghost washed down his food with his water. “I made an extra appointment.” He knew that if he hadn’t said anything now, Soap would pester him later about it and that was something he didn’t want to hear.

Soap just gave him a side glance and nodded. “Good on you, man.”

Across the parking lot on the opposite side of the strip, a familiar figure walked along the sidewalk, turning into the bookstore across from the chip shop. Ghost leaned forward to get a better look, curious at what brought Andra into the store. He remembered that she was carrying around a book in her truck the day they brought it into the shop. He had the title and author recited in his memory. She walked around leisurely in the shop, pausing at the front displays of the most sought-after books before going onto the next one. An older man approached her, and her face perked up to give him her attention.

He ran the shop alongside his wife. Ghost recalled this after visiting the place once for his own reading interests. The man was surly at best when he had to deal with Ghost as a customer, giving him a questioning look at his mask. And immediately warmed up to the next customer, who happened to be a young female. Ghost would never forget that, so he avoided going there ever again.

Andra appeared to be asking him a question, to which he turned to check the computer’s inventory. He shook his head, and her face turned down in gentle disappointment. 

“Lookin’ pretty hard there, Ghost.” Soap pulled him out of his focus and looked out the passenger window, trying to find what caught his attention.

“It’s nothing.” He denied, pulling down his balaclava to conceal his entire face once more.

Soap chuckled. “You sure you don’t want to help her on Sunday?”

“No.”

Ghost looked at Andra one last time as he turned the key in the ignition, pulling on the gearshift. He still had a clear view of her standing at the register talking away with the older gentleman. She had a polite, bright expression, the kind that would belong to a warm caregiver. His breath left his lungs when she started to smile, breaking out into laughter. It was like he had a view of her in 16K, memorizing the way her parchment-colored skin creased around her eyes, the way her single dimple cratered on her left cheek. The sight was enough to make him feel like all of the suspicion he carried, pondered and repeated in his mind was never there to begin with.

It was enough to make him smile. And he couldn’t recall anything more breathtaking than her, that had him smiling like this.

[grapesodadarkchocolate]

On My Mind: Why do I care?

The saga of the downed tree damage continues. 

Yes, my color wheel continues to spin. Not settling my spirit. Needing to find a rhythm that is less disquieting and disruptive. Finding that my awareness of noise or lack of, can be deafening in its own right. Finding the undercurrent that loss offers. Trying to pull myself into a balance that feels more life giving. I discovered that the duping from Cricket next store has been a rug pulling under foot that seems to wiggle too often into my thoughts. It seems like a constant buzz and I need to find an honest way to dismantle its import from my psyche. As a pattern maker, my curse and blessing to how I navigate this world, rumbles with the fact that too many parts don’t fit. I realize I need to continue to identify what is skewed. 

I realize Cricket wants control and I clearly have been duped the entire time she has lived next door. I realize I don’t like to be played the fool. That is a tough pill to swallow. So with control in the lead, transaction is the engagement not connection. It is about what the other can do for me, says the Cricket. Why else would she go silent? Not speaking to us when we return from our fourteen week summer sojourn. It could be tough seeing the trees impact in person for the first time. The damage inflicted by her tree and yet no comment. Knowing this is only a single piece that doesn’t fit. She has offered more. Too many more.

So “why do I care?” is what I need to continue asking myself until I have washed the sticky phlegm off of my skin. It isn’t what I thought the pull away would be after her tree damaged our yard. We bearing the brunt of the clean up and for some reason we are to blame. Or at least held accountable for what can’t be explained. The “victim” as the bad guy, I have seen it played out before and yet I still don’t understand why that is the take away. The human mystery of aligning with the lower road.

“Why do I care?” Breathing into the reality, The one Cricket has offered. Baffling and small, the writing may have always been on the wall, I just couldn’t read it. It may be that she is not any different, it is just that her mask has been removed and I clearly don’t appreciate what I see. I also realized, being a pattern maker, she wasn’t missing her tree, it is more about the fact that she did all that she was supposed to do in care for it and it still fell over and died. For, in patterns, if she cared about her tree, she would also be aware of what that loss might feel like to others. In this case me. But no, so there it rides. More of the mask. More of the duping, the part that got under my skin and led me to assume she could be trusted to assist with our details while we were away, but not. 

So “why do I care?” is the question I need to stay with. It is where control is over connection, transaction is over relationship, and trust and truth can not exist. I believe it is another thing to grieve. And each time we come down the alley in the car, turning into the driveway the reality is there again. The work that needs to be tended too. The decisions that need to be made. Finding that the loss and hassle are clearly in the mix everyday. And Crickets deafening silence since our summer away, hasn’t been helpful. It has been too much of a thorn in my side and I need to simply pull the darn thing out. +++

This week's quote:

Quote source: “111 former GOP officials call Trump ‘unfit to serve’” by Peter Baker, The New York Times, September 19, 2024 📰

[babyjakes]

ever green, evermore | 2. the little garden fairy.

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summary | loving husbands jake and ari had always believed they were all each other could ever want or need. but one unusual summer, when their world is turned upside-down by an uncanny girl from down the street, they find that having someone to love, nurture, and care for together is the missing piece that finally completes their perfect family and lives.

characters | caretaker!jake jensen, daddy!ari levinson, wrenley beauchamp (original character)

warnings | mentions/depictions of domestic and sexual violence, mental health themes: anxiety/panic disorders, trauma and post-traumatic-stress, eating disorders (restrictive subtype), therapeutic methods and tools: exposure, age regression.

As soon as his rugged boots hit the pale gravel of the driveway, something stirred within Jake. Lifting his head up to look around, his eyes were immediately drawn to the lush bunches of green and petals filling the rows of wooden boxes before him; furrowing his brow, the man paused in confusion. “Ari?”

Closing the driver’s side door behind him, the older, larger man walked over to stand at Jake’s side. “Yeah- you okay, honey?” Ari asked, his eyes following the blonde’s gaze to look over the garden. “Oh right- I was gonna tell you, I think someone’s been stopping by to tend to the garden.”

“Oh?” Jake asked as he approached the collection of plants, his hesitancy stemming more from amazement than anything else. Carefully eyeing the row closest to him, which happened to be one of his favorites: his bright yellow tulips, Ari’s suspicions were immediately confirmed for him. “You’re right; someone’s definitely been in here. Unless you were the one who got rid of all the weeds.” Considering the fact that he’d been gone for four and a half weeks, Jake normally would’ve expected to return to a decent amount of new prickly growth. But looking over all the boxes as he walked slowly along the rows, he couldn’t find a single stem that was out of place; whoever had done the job was more diligent than even he would have been. 

“No, wasn’t me- but here they are,” Ari responded, now standing over by the waste bin at the end of the workbench. Walking over to join him, Jake’s eyes widened at the sight waiting in the black garbage bag. The weeds, plentiful in number, sat tied together with some sort of string in neat little bundles at the bottom of the bin; clearly, their removal had been no accident. “Whoever it was, I think they were watering too. Some days I’d come out and the soil would already be damp, even in the middle of the afternoon.”

“Fascinating,” Jake whispered, turning back to look over the plants once more. “They look… greener than I remember.” Pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, the man’s expression once again turned to a look of bewilderment. He was stumped. He couldn’t think of anyone who might do such a thing. The couple’s closest neighbors were well down the road, over a large hill, and he hadn’t ever talked much with any of them. In fact, most of them he hadn’t met at all. “You didn’t see anyone?” 

“Nope, and I tried to check a few times a day. I was curious. Maybe it was a magical little garden fairy,” the brunette teased lightly, reaching out to rub the younger man’s shoulder. Turning to face him, Jake’s pensiveness melted away as he smirked playfully at the thought. “I should probably head in and start on dinner, don’t wanna be sitting down to eat too late,” Ari murmured, planting a kiss on his husband’s forehead. “You gonna stay out here for a bit?”

“No, I’ll come in and help you,” Jake decided, rubbing the back of his neck as he sighed. “I’m gonna wait ‘til tomorrow to figure this out. Right now I just wanna get inside, get some food in my stomach, maybe curl up with you on the couch-”

“Mm, that sounds good to me, sweetheart,” Ari hummed, his lips lingering against Jake’s forehead as he wrapped his arms around his smaller frame, pulling him in close. “Missed you so much, handsome, ‘m so glad you’re back.”

“Missed you more,” Jake breathed into his shoulder, soaking in the warmth of his familiar embrace.

At breakfast the next morning, as Ari stood between the sink and the island counter in the home’s large U-shaped kitchen and pulled freshly washed dishes out of the dishwasher, Jake sat with his usual cup of coffee at the dining table, his eyes focused on long runs of code and fragmented data typed out in one of his countless tech manuals. “That one any good?” the brunette asked as he wiped another glass clean with the white cloth in his hand before reaching up to store it away in the overhead cabinets. 

“Yeah, better plot than the last one,” Jake joked as he scribbled a few illegible notes in the margin before flipping the page, the eraser of the pencil mindlessly finding its way between the man’s rosy lips. 

“Honey,” Ari warned with a chuckle, causing the blonde to immediately remove the already half-chewed nub from his mouth. The older man never seemed to miss a thing when it came to watching over his partner. By now, he knew all of his little quirks, and though Jake would have been a little embarrassed to admit it, Ari’s constant attentiveness and borderline overprotectiveness did give him a nice feeling of security. He loved feeling cared for, which was something his husband did very well. “You want some real food? I can cook you up some eggs before I get started in the office.” 

“No, that’s okay,” Jake declined casually as he took a sip from his burgundy mug, the lead of his pencil falling back down to meet the white of the page as he jotted more notes. “Think I’m gonna bake some muffins this morning, I’ve been craving something sweet. We got any fruit in the fridge?”

“Fresh box of blueberries from the farmer’s market,” Ari replied with a grin as he kicked up the dishwasher door to close it, hanging the towel over the bar of the handle. “You want me to take the stuff out for you?”

“Sure, thanks,” Jake agreed gratefully as his eyes skimmed line after line of the random letters and numbers through the thick frames of his glasses. “This stuff rots the brain, I swear,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, I can imagine,” Ari murmured as he began pulling ingredients from the cupboards, placing them out on the counter next to the sink. “Baking’ll be a good break for your head. You just got back yesterday, bud. Hate to see you diving back in already.”

“It’s fine,” Jake tried to assure him, more than anything just wanting to get to the end of the section so he could have a nice place to pause and close the book.

“Hey, have you thought any more about the garden?” Ari asked curiously as he looked over at the blonde, lips curling up in an affectionate smile as he noticed the familiar look of concentration settled into his features. Ari loved everything about Jake; he could sit and watch him do his work for hours. There were so many little things he did that the doctor just found so precious, so endearing. Ari didn’t know many people as smart as himself, but Jake had to be one of the few exceptions. And it was a different kind of smart, one which the older man found so fascinating. In his eyes, Jake had the most beautiful brain on earth, so vast and full of information; it never failed to amaze and impress him. 

“Yeah- muffins are part of the plan,” Jake revealed as his eyes shifted from the left page to the right, earning a questioning look from Ari. “I’m gonna spend my day in the kitchen; that way, I can keep an eye on out front. If I finish up these last few paragraphs, I’ll be caught up on work through the end of the week. Gonna hang out in here, maybe crank up some tunes- you know, get the groove goin’.”

“Mhm, I see,” Ari nodded with another smile as he finished gathering everything his husband would need for the muffins. After looking over the pile on the counter, the man made his way over to the kitchen table to stand at Jake’s side, wrapping his arms around the blonde’s head and leaning down to plant a kiss in his hair. “That sounds like a good plan, my love. I’ll try to finish work early today so I can come join you; we can cook up a nice dinner together. How’s that sound?”

“That sounds perfect, honey. Thank you,” Jake breathed as he turned to wrap his arms around his lover’s waist, taking a moment to rub his face lovingly against the soft cotton of the man’s shirt. “You let me know if you need somethin’, okay? I’ll be around all day, not doing much. If I can bring you coffee or a snack or anything, just holler.”

“I will, sugar. You take such good care’a me,” Ari hummed, giving the top of his head one more kiss before letting go. “And you come and tell me if you spot anything, alright? I’m curious to see just who this little garden fairy is.”

And though he waited patiently and hoped, that first Monday home went by without a single stir through the window. As did the next day, and even another. Jake did his best to keep himself busy, pulling out the old record player he and Ari kept stored in the hall closet along with the cardboard box that stored their combined vinyl collection. Grooving along to all of his old favorites, he passed the time with various activities: baking, reading, tinkering around with his tech gadgets- by the time Thursday came around, he even resorted to giving the kitchen a full, thorough cleaning, though Ari had just done a deep clean the week before. He wasn’t sure what was taking the mystery gardener so long; he couldn’t imagine how they would’ve found out about his return, or that they would even know he was the owner of the garden to begin with. 

By the time Friday morning came, the man’s hopes were dwindling. But even still, after pouring his usual cup of coffee, he once again settled down in his seat at the kitchen table, flipping open his laptop with a soft groan as he wasn’t exactly looking forward to logging back into his work browser. 

Taking the first sip from his mug, Jake’s face scrunched up as he choked lightly on the unusually bitter taste of the brew. “Needs cream,” he mumbled to himself, rising from his chair with the mug in his hand. And just as he made his way over to the refrigerator to retrieve the carton, he saw it through the large double windows behind the sink: by the roses, pale yellow watering can in hand, stood a small creature, a girl- and as he watched in amazement, Jake honestly thought could have been imagining her entirely by the way she almost seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. She was just as his husband had suggested: like a magical being from a storybook. “Little garden fairy,” Jake hummed to himself in awe as he continued to observe the young girl; aside from her lack of glittering wings, everything about her matched the title. Her small, delicate frame, the petite features of her soft face. Her flowing locks of sand dollar hair, caressed by the golden light of the morning. Her white sundress blowing gently in the breeze, the garment’s simple look and color giving off an air of complete innocence. Her silver ballet flats with long ribbons laced up around her calves- she can’t be real, Jake thought to himself as he stood, frozen, still trying to process what was right before his eyes. Though even after blinking a few times to clear his vision, there she remained, in all her wonder and beauty. 

Keeping his movements slow to avoid gaining her attention through the window, Jake took a step back, swallowing down a lump in his throat. He was nervous; he didn’t know what exactly to expect, but this was far off from whatever he had been imagining. Dumping his coffee down the drain, he placed the mug at the bottom of the sink, trying to plan out his next moves wisely. He wanted to go alert Ari, but he was worried the girl could disappear at any moment, and then he would’ve lost his chance. “I have to go say hi,” he finally told himself, turning to leave the kitchen. “I have to thank her for taking care of things while I was away.”

Though he was certain she couldn’t see him as he passed through the living room towards the front door, Jake still made an effort to keep quiet as he slipped on his shoes before heading out into the mild morning air, keeping his footing light against the beige gravel of the walkway. Just as she came into view from behind the edge of the house’s navy blue siding, the man halted, taking another few moments to just observe undetected. 

The girl now stood at the other end of the rows of boxes, her steady hands carefully sprinkling water over the last of the daffodils from the watering can. Jake didn’t recognize it as one of theirs, bringing him to the conclusion that she must’ve brought it herself. A glint of metal caught the man’s eye as he watched; eyes trailing over, he discovered an unfamiliar bike stationed by the foot of the driveway, just past the entrance to the garden. It was a unique looking bike, ivory in color, with two rear wheels that held a large basket between them. She must live nearby, Jake thought to himself as he turned his attention back to the girl who was still at work, humming softly to herself as she gazed down lovingly at the plants below her.

Gathering his courage, Jake decided to finally make his presence known, taking another step forward before clearing his throat. “Hey…” he began, trying to shake the nerves from his voice. “So you’re the one who’s been takin’ care’a things around here, huh? I’m glad I finally get to meet you,” he greeted with a friendly smile, though it quickly turned to a look of great concern at the girl’s reaction. 

As soon as she heard the man’s voice, she jumped, her watering can flying out of her hands as she let out a gasp. When her wide eyes landed on him, Jake was startled to see that they quickly filled with tears, a frightened whimper sounding from the poor girl as she cowered back instinctively. Cornered, bumping up against the shaded racks of flower boxes behind her, she could do nothing but fall to her knees, her bottom lip wobbling feverishly as she shook like a leaf under the stranger’s gaze. 

“Oh, oh hey-” Jake stumbled, extending a hand out as an offering of peace. The girl only shrunk back from the motion, tears beginning to flood her cheeks as her chest rose and fell sporadically with uneven breaths. Frowning, the man took a few careful steps forward, trying to lower himself a little to avoid towering over her. “Hey, I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to startle you.” Big eyes blinking quickly, she couldn’t manage any words. All she could do was struggle for air; recognizing her inability to speak, Jake softened his voice. “Hey, it’s alright. You wanna take some deep breaths with me?” he offered, his sensitive response to the panicked girl coming much more naturally than one might’ve expected. The truth was, though, that he was actually an expert at this. “It’s alright,” he murmured again, starting the grounding exercise just like he always did, “you’re alright. Let’s go slow- here, in… and out…”

“In… and out…” Jake had spoken the same words years ago to a similar cowering figure- that of his beloved little sister Claire, who he had grown up helping care for. She had developed a severe anxiety disorder early on in life from an incident at school, making her prone to episodes of debilitating fear that looked a lot like what was playing out before Jake’s very eyes there in the garden. Though he had been a growing boy himself, often times he was the only person who could manage to calm his sister down; with his gentle tone and demeanor, he was a natural at soothing her unwieldy mind. And though he knew nothing about this girl who was now sobbing quietly before him, something inside of Jake told him that his years of practice growing up might come in handy as he tried to de-escalate the situation at hand. “In… and out, you’re okay- it’s okay, sweetheart. There’s no need to cry, nothing to cry about here.”

Little hands clutched in fists over her chest, the girl let out a weak whimper, lips trembling as she tried to form words, though at first all she could manage was a jumbled mess of incoherent syllables. “I-I… I’m… I…” Raising his brow, Jake’s expression softened further at the first sound of her voice. “I… I’m so sorry,” she finally managed after a few more shaky breaths, more tears bursting from her pale blue eyes; now able to get a closer look, Jake could see that they were quite the unique shade of silver, almost giving off the tiniest bit of lavender in the mid-morning sun. She had just about the cutest features decorating her delicate face, soft patches of freckles dotting all over her little button nose, and pale pink lips that glittered faintly from what looked to be a light layer of gloss. Rosy cheeks flushed from her tears, the girl rubbed at her eyes, her bottom lip puffing out unthinkingly as she peered up warily at the man before her.

“Hey- it’s okay, no need to apologize,” Jake told her soothingly as he slowly took another few steps in her direction, not failing to notice the way she once again shrunk back from his approach. Bending down to sit a safe few feet away from the stranger, he cleared his throat, his eyes struggling to catch her gaze as she glanced around nervously. “Remember to keep breathing,” he said softly, his gentle reminder seeming to provide at least a little comfort to the girl as she gave him a small nod. “I’m sorry for frightening you,” Jake apologized again, his voice swelling with sincerity, “I didn’t mean to- oh sweetie, you’re alright,” he continued to hum his comforting words as his heart couldn’t help but break at the sight of the poor thing still trembling. “I was just so excited to finally meet you- I’ve been wanting to thank you for all the work you’ve done in the garden,” he tried to explain. “I was away for a few weeks; usually when I come back, the place is in need of some serious TLC. But thanks to you, things are thriving now more than ever. You’ve got a real green thumb on you,” he told her with a warm smile, trying to convey just how appreciative he was.

Blinking a few times at the man’s words, the girl nodded again hesitantly, almost seeming doubtful that Jake would really be thanking her for her service. “Oh, I… of c-course, sir,” she stumbled a bit more over her words. With the urge to almost lean in just to hear her better, Jake realized this little garden fairy already had him wrapped around her finger; there was just something about her voice, so sweet and mild, that did him in. “I-I’m sorry for coming in and… and messing with things without asking for permission. I just… I wasn’t sure if anyone was here to take care of it,” she rambled nervously. 

Shaking his head reassuringly, Jake promised her, “That’s okay, believe me. You’ve been such a big help. You’re welcome here any time.”

Eyes growing a little wider as the rest of her tears finally subsided, the girl’s voice grew slightly in amazement as she asked, “Really? Oh, th-thank you so much, sir. That’s so kind of you- I’ve always dreamed of having a big garden just like this, but I’ve got no room for it at home.”

“Well, I would never turn down an extra pair of hands around here,” Jake chuckled softly, “especially ones as skilled as yours. I’m Jake, by the way. I don’t think I caught your name.” 

“It’s n-nice to meet you, Mr. Jake,” the girl greeted with the softest of smiles, her eyes shining with a pleasant sense of friendliness. “I’m Wrenley- you can call me Wren. I live just down the road from here, over the big hill,” she told him, nodding in the direction that the road followed. 

“Wren” Jake repeated the name back to her, a certain fondness evident in his voice as he returned her smile. “The pleasure’s all mine. Here, can I help you up?” he asked, extending his hand out as he spoke.

With just the smallest hint of a wince, Wren hesitated, eyes drooping warily at the offer. Picking up on her uncertainty, Jake softened his voice once more. “Here, let me back up a bit,” he suggested as he retracted his hand and scooted back a few steps, rising to his feet. Carefully standing after him, the girl only came up to his shoulders as they faced each other; she was quite a tiny little thing, and as he continued to look at her, a question began to rise out of Jake before he even realized he was speaking. “How old are you, Wren?” 

Cheeks reddening, her small voice replied, “Twenty, sir. I’ll be twenty-one in the fall.”

“I see,” Jake nodded, not sure how much more he could ask without coming across as nosy. “Are you in school, then? Or do you work?” Though they lived out in the countryside, there was a chance that she went into one of the nearby towns to attend college or work a job. The closest was a short drive away, convenient for things like buying groceries and seeing a doctor every once and a while. 

“I-I’m taking university courses online,” Wren explained. “I’m very lucky; my boyfriend makes enough to let me focus on my studies instead of working. What about you, sir?”

Not wanting to go too deep into his occupation, Jake simply said, “I work for the government. Tech stuff, nothing special. Sometimes I get to take trips to help out the higher-ups. You live with your boyfriend, then?” The girl nodded. “That’s nice. I live here with my husband, Ari. You should meet him, sometime. He’s been just as impressed with your gardening work as I have.” At the mention of meeting another stranger, it was unmistakable that Wren began to tremble slightly once more; expression softening sympathetically, Jake reassured her, “Only when you’re ready, of course.”

Nodding gratefully, Wren seemed to pause, opening her mouth as if she was getting ready to say something. But when no words came out, she simply deflated a little, apologizing, “I-I’m sorry, sir. I… I don’t know how to explain, I…” Listening intently, Jake nodded, patiently waiting for her to continue. “I’m… I just have a hard time with… with people. I get so nervous and…” Words trailing off, she lowered her head slightly. 

“Hey,” Jake smiled softly, trying to give the flighty girl a reassuring look, “that’s okay, sweetheart. You know, I actually have a sister who’s a little bit like you. She has a hard time with people too; sometimes she gets really overwhelmed and needs to do some breathing to calm down.” A look of recognition appeared on Wren’s face at the man’s words, followed by a bit of relief as she nodded knowingly. “So I understand, and I’m always happy to help if things are getting to be too much. You don’t have to be sorry for that; I know it’s out of your control.”

“Th-thank you, sir,” Wren breathed, her shaking dying down a bit as she admitted, “it’s nice to meet someone who... you know, who gets it. When I… when I got scared earlier, I… no one’s ever reacted that way before. You’re very kind, sir. Your sister is lucky to have you.” Hearing the underlying sadness in her voice, Jake’s heart broke a little bit for the girl. It sounded like maybe she had been treated less kindly by others in the past, which he just hated to imagine. 

“There’s no need to thank me, sweet thing. You’re safe with me, okay?” he assured her, and one thing was certain: he really meant it. Though he had only just met her, Jake already knew that she was a special girl, and all he wanted was to be someone to her like he was to Claire, someone who could help when she needed it. He just hoped she’d let him.

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[uglypastels]

Okay but imagine, Eddie calls you because he can’t sleep and he wants you to come over. So you go over to his trailer and lay down with him and ask him about his day while you play with his hair. And he tells you all about this d&d campaign he’s working on and how excited he is for it. And then within minutes he falls asleep because he finds comfort in your presence and can only fall asleep when you’re around 🥴

heyaa :) thank you for the request. I did make a slight change to it, but I hope it´s still good <3

no explicit warnings. mentions of anxiety and small (but probably) inaccurate depiction of ptsd.

taglist // masterlist // inbox

Eddie had trouble falling asleep since he climbed out of that hellhole. Images of the monsters and the vines, not to mention Chrissy, flashed in front of his eyes. Shots of blood-red light that made his own blood run cold. And yet, at the same time, he felt hot all over. Uncomfortable in his own skin, unable to sit or lay still. He barely ever stayed alone at the trailer anymore, still thinking that whenever he would look up at the ceiling, that gate would show up, or he would see Chrissy's body stuck to it again. 

On nights like these, when his uncle had a late-night shift and wouldn't come back home until the early morning hours, Eddie played his music as loud as he could until someone from a neighbouring trailer would bang on his door to "shut the fuck up". But he would never turn it off. Instead, he would lower the volume and sit next to the speakers, letting the vibrations of the music distract him, absorbing the lyrics and the melodies, guitar in his lap as he tried to figure out the chords. 

But sometimes, that wasn't enough. The tight feeling in his chest wouldn't go away, and the tiny space of his room would feel even more suffocating. He would go on long drives down the dark roads, no particular destinations in mind, just wherever his headlights would lead him. 

Although, somehow, that still often ended up in being your driveway. Well, he would park a block away, not to alarm your parents, but he would end up walking up to your house. He'd check if the light in your room was still on, which it was most of the time as you were most definitely a night owl. 

You would be sitting at your desk, perhaps, working on some project, or maybe already in bed, reading a book. That's when you'd hear the soft tapping on the window. The first time it happened, you nearly screamed, waking up the entire street, but now you had grown completely used to it. You started looking forward to it, actually. 

One more pebble hit your window by the time you finally showed up in front of it. Your room's soft, warm glow illuminated the ground underneath, showing you Eddie's soft smile. You opened the window, letting the cold night air greet your skin. 

'Hey stranger,' you said, 'what could you possibly be doing here?' 

'Permission to come aboard?' He'd whisper-shout up to you, and you just rolled your eyes, obviously letting him come up.

The first few times, Eddie had struggled, but eventually, he had managed to find the perfect strategy to climb up to your window. You both just hoped that no one would notice the slight dent that had come up near the drainpipes. It was just a small one, anyway. Who knows where that could have come from, right? 

You helped him get over the window sill, already having prepared the area around the window for him to get out of, as before, he tended to trip over the furniture and your countless knick-knacks. 

Without a word, the tradition quickly formed and was repeated almost constantly. He would get inside your room, and while he took off his shoes and jacket, you would get comfortable in bed, propping up a pillow for him. He would already be wearing some old sweatpants, having tried to sleep earlier, and a worn-out shirt that was very familiar to you. He'd get into bed with you and not waste a second to get to hug you. His arms wrapped around you tightly, his lips finding your lips, cheek, temple– any part of you that he could kiss, he would. 

'I missed you,' he murmured into the kiss. 

'You saw me just a few hours ago,' you lightly giggled. 

'I know, but the hours without you seem to be twice as long.' 

'That might be the cheesiest thing you have ever said, Munchie.' You returned him a kiss. 

'And is that a bad thing?' 

'I never said that.' You didn't talk about whatever bothered him. That wasn't what he needed or wanted. Of course, he knew that if he did, you would always be there for him, but he didn't want to think about those things. He just wanted to sleep, have some moment of peace, and that is what you brought out in him. You let him have those quiet moments when his heart and brain stopped going into overdrive and just focused on what really mattered.

While hugging you, he noticed a book lying on the edge of the bed– the one you had been reading for the past few days before going to sleep. He leaned over you, grabbing it. 

"Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again. It seemed to me I stood by the iron gate–" 

'That's the first page!' you interrupted, 'I'm like halfway through.' 

'I'm not.' Eddie said before continuing the story. You made yourself comfortable, nuzzling into his side as you tried to read a long with him but eventually felt yourself get increasingly tired as the time went on. 

That is when he finished the first chapter and handed the book to you. 

'Your turn,' he explained, and while you had been ready to doze off, it had only been a few minutes, so the energy came back quickly. Not to mention, the look Eddie gave you– you could not possibly say no. You grabbed the book from him and opened it up to the second chapter. 

"We can never go back again; that much is certain. The past is still too close to us. The thing we have tried to forget and put behind us would stir again, and that sense of fear–" you kept on reading as Eddie had taken up your position of cuddling up against you, with his body close to yours, head on your chest. His arms wrapped all around you from your waist to hips, where his fingers were mindlessly tracing invisible shapes. 

"He is wonderfully patient and never complains, not even when he remembers,"  you kept on reading as Eddie's grip on you got tighter. "which happens, I think, rather more often than he would have me know." 

As you kept on reading the chapter, you could tell whenever a part intrigued him the most, as would stop his mindless phantom doodling on your skin so he could really focus on the words you spoke out loud. But eventually, as you went on, all of it stopped, and his grip on you slacked, and his breathing slowed down, evened out. 

You yourself had wrapped yourself up in the story so much that you read past the third chapter and the next one (as they were all quite short), so Eddie had more than enough time to let his head get lost in everything you were telling him through the book and relax into a deep and soft slumber. As carefully as you could, not wanting to stir him awake, you put the book away and turned the bedside table lamp off. The moment you had leaned away a bit too far, Eddie's instinct kicked in, because, even asleep, he didn't want you to go. 

You pressed a small kiss on his forehead before sliding down to your pillow to get comfortable and fall asleep. 

It was probably the most peaceful few hours of rest both of you had ever had, all the way up until 9 am in the next morning when your mother walked in to wake you up and tell you breakfast was ready. Her blood-curdling scream at the sight of Eddie beside you in your bed made both of you nearly fall off the mattress. 

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[askforimagineoroneshot]

Free time before tour - Part 4 (Chris Motionless x Reader)

HELLO EVERYONE! I am finally back and writing. It took too long, I know. But I was just so incredibly busy. All it took me to write is to get sick and be stuck at home.

This is another part of the story. It is a longer one so I hope you like it. There will be one more part at least.

I am also working on a new project for you guys so it's all so exciting.

Let me know what you think about this part. Let me know what do you want me to write. Love you guys!

Gifs are not mine. Imagine is!!

Warnings! There is a graphic smut under the cut. You have been warned.

MASTERLIST         PART 1      PART 2       PART 3

Y/N's point of view

I am so tired. It really was a long day and we did a lot of things, more than we thought we would be able to. We got back to the house. Everyone is as tired as I am. Except for Chris. Or he looks better than the rest of us.

“I will take a shower.” I said to Chris when we got to our room.

“Yeah sure. Just don't put your pj on. I have a surprise for you. We will be leaving for the evening.” he smiles at me.

I don't question it. I know I can trust him more than anyone. I get excited about what he has in store for me.

I do as I am told. I don't know where we will go, what we will be doing so I am dressed ready for anything. Black jeans with a white dress shirt. You know, something I am comfortable in, something formal.

“I am ready.” I say to get Chris' attention. He is sitting on the bed with his phone. He looks up and smiles at me.

“I get some of your things in the car just so you know.” his slender fingers started to play with my arms. He was so tender and caring. It came to me so funny. I am with him all this time and still I miss him. “Let's go if you are ready.” he tells me after a moment of silence.

“How long will we be gone? Should I take something? And boys know?” I panic a little as I am guided outside of the building we are staying at.

“I said I put our staff in the car.'' His iconic laugh makes me more relaxed. I trust him, I just feel unprepared.

“Okay.” I give up and let him take me to the car that is waiting for us. “Boys also know?”

“Oh yeah. Don't worry they will not miss us that terribly.” he opens the door for me and waits for me to get in. Which I do and let him close the door behind me.

He gets in and starts the car. He is always the driver when we go somewhere. I mean I do have a license but after another driver pushed me off the road I tend to not like driving like I used to. I am just nervous and looking too much around me to drive. Also after the accident Chris makes it his task. We are both calmer that way.

When we pull out of the driveway I can see Sharon coming outside of the house. She looks beyond pissed. “Oh so you did tell everyone we are leaving?” I laugh.

“No.” Chris puts his tattooed hand on my knee. “I told the boys. That was the question.” We both laugh. I can tell he is not at ease in Sharon's company. As a band leader and artist he needs space and peace.

Everyone in the band needs that so the mood in the house was a little tense. It's nice to be away from it. As many of us as there are on tours we are all very similar people. We can have fun but we also need a little space of our own.

“She is not happy. We may not have to deal with it now but we will when we come back.” I sadly speak my mind and let Chris know I am on his side. “This little peace is worth it tho. I will talk to her when we come back.”

I am playing with Chris' fingers without paying it mind. It is so calming. His cold skin and the metal off his rings.

“You don't have to do anything. I spoke to Josh. He will deal with it in the morning. She is not staying.” He looks at me to reashore me. “I will make sure everyone is comfortable. You no longer have to worry about her.”

“You want to go on tour without Josh's assistant?” I ask because I want to know. I want to support his decisions.

“We did that before. The assistant was in mind to make things easier, not harder. Josh is not happy with her anyway. I just speeded up the process. It doesn't change anything.” he takes my hand in his and just holds it.

“I am not worried.” I let him know and just closed my eyes. I am enjoying the ride. “When will you let me know where we are heading?” I change the subject of conversation.

“We are almost there. It is not far. I just wanted to take you away from all the noise. To rest, with me.” he let me know.

“Thank you.” my heart is beating faster. All that means so much to me. The fact that he knows what I enjoy and he goes the extra mile for me. What we have is really special. And I am ready to do the same for him. No matter what he needs. I am here.

“You don't have to thank me for anything.” I feel the car stop. At first I thought that we were at a red light but he stopped the engine. “You have to get up, love” I laugh and do as he says. When I get out of the car I am in front of another house. A little different from where we are staying with the band. It is beautiful. A little bigger even.

“Come on.” Chris reaches for me and guides me to the door. “We will be staying here tonight and tomorrow.” He opens the door for me and locks them back when we are inside.

“You didn't have to do this, Chris.” I feel bad. Did I make him think I was unhappy with the band in the other house? Maybe I made it look like that. “This is too much.”

“Come here.” He drops our back on the floor and takes me in his arms. “We have been busy and you have given my band all your time. You accepted these children no matter what. You train in style you never performed in and write for my band. You need this. We need this. A little moment from all that craziness. Before the other starts. I know you are tired. And I know you miss us. I feel the same. This is not too much. This is barely enough.” After his little speech he buries his face in my neck. This little cuddle is sweet.

“They are my band and my responsibility as well Chris. If you guys want me to be part of it. Even if you don't, I understand. The band is your family. And I don't need to be part of it to love it as much as you do.” I run my fingers through his raven hair.

“You are part of the band. It scared me a little at the beginning. With the boys and how they will accept you. If they scare you. I wanted this to work so much. And it did immediately. Boys love you. Fans love you.” he lets go of me a little to look into my eyes. “I love you.”

I want to be as close to him as possible. I just need to feel him hold me close so I can feel as safe and as accepted as he only knows to make me feel. “I love you so fucking much.” Chris doesn't let me finish. Just grabs me and kisses me. There are so many emotions passing through us right now. “And the band. And the fans. All of it.” I goucky say when he pulls away. I know where this is going and I am more than happy with it. I just want him to know.

“Yeah yeah. They are all just so lovable.'' He makes sarcastic remarks. “I think I am just gonna focus on us now.” he lifts me up and carries me inside. He knows this place. Must have been here when he left for a moment. “Now look at that.”

I turn my head and see a pool light up inside. I am amazed. It looks so pretty. It's not a pool for swimmers. It's a lot smaller which makes it romantic in a way. There is a bar in its proximity. A few chairs with a TV set up.

“Well haven't you planned it out amazingly.” I smile at him when I turn back in his arms. I steal another kiss from him before he puts me down, not breaking it.

“Let me get you a drink.” he breaks the kiss but still holds me close to him. “Get in the water for me in the meantime.” he lets go of me and goes to said bar.

“If only I knew what was the plan I would bring a swimsuit.” The room is not big enough for Chris to not hear me across.

“We will not be needing them here. Do as you were told.” he turns to look at me. “Be good. Go on.” His eyes make me want to jump in. He is in the mood and I am more than needy. I miss his touch and attention.

So I do as I was told. I slowly walk in the water. It is not warm but not cold. It is nice this way. I can relax like this.

“Look at you.” I turn around to see Chris watching me closely. “How did I miss you. And you are so good for me.'' He takes his pants off which is the last article of clothing he has on. With drinks in hand he follows me into the water.

“Thank you.” I took one drink from him. It is alcohol. Some time of brandy. I like the smell. “What are we drinking for? Another successful tour?” We are close enough for our skin to touch. His tattoos shine on his pale skin. He is beautiful. Water reflects his eyes and his deep stare into mine.

“That's too far ahead. Let's drink for this trip.” he tells me.

“This trip? We drink it without the band?” I let him grab a hold of me and pull me closer. I am much smaller so he sits down with me inside the pool.

“I mean this little trip. Our little piece of heaven. We will enjoy it, trust me angel.” And so we drink to it. It is nice. I put the glass at the edge of the pool when I felt Chris' lips on my neck. I sit in his lap and let him do with me as he pleases.

“Are you the owner okay with us doing this in his pool?” I ask between moans. My will to be respectful and not do this at a place like this is losing all its power.

“I am sure he will be okay with this.” Chris gets up and turns me around. I know what he wants and I comply. “There you go my good little girl.” He gets behind me as I put my hands on the edge of the pool for support.

My y/h/c is in a way for Chris to access my neck. His body is pressed against mine. I can feel his breath against my neck even with the hair. With his first move he gets access to back off my neck by pulling my hair at a side. His lips ghost on my skin. Makes me let the breath out I didn't realize I was holding.

“I missed your taste.'' I hear a growl that comes from his chest.

His big hands travel from my waist to my chest. Fingertips brushing against my hardened nipples. One of my hands meets his. I love this sensation. All of his attention is on me. I wouldn't be able to notice if someone had walked in. My mind is focused on one thing and one thing only.

I back my ass into him. I know what I am doing. And it is working. I can feel his body respond to me. “Don't misbehave.” A strong warning is given but I don't move away from him.

“Please.” I try a different tactic. I am used to us taking our time with things like this. We can go for hours before he penetrates me. I love the way he is and how he guides me through our passionate hours. But it has been so long since we could do something like this.

“I missed you.” I plead again.

His hands let go of my body and travel into my hair. He makes me look at him before he grips my neck. Just one of his hands is enough to get a hold of me. Even if I struggled it would not work. And I enjoy that as well. I sometimes love putting up a fight to make him tame me in a way.

“I know baby doll. I neglected you.'' His hold on me is firm. It lets me know that he is in control. And I love every second of it. “So I will let this little misbehavior go without notice. But don't think that you don't have to behave.” After he scolded me he allowed me to kiss him.  Before I can get greedy he pulls me away by the hold he has on my neck.

Never letting go of me his other hand travels to the place I need him the most. His fingers tested my folds and when he got pleased by how my body responded to him he dived into my heat.

“Oh well look at you.” His whisper in my ear is followed by his wet lips. That makes me whimper and move from him. My ears are so sensitive and he knows that. That is why he is testing me like this. He knows I want to be good for him but this can be too much.

“Be good.” the hand that is resting on my neck gets a better grip. Making me move by his lead. When I am back in place his fingers that are hiding in my debts move faster.

“Chris.” I moan out. I can't hold back anymore. “Please. You are gonna make me cum.” I protest. I don't want to yet so I try to move again.

“Where do you think are going, hmm.” his grip on my neck makes me dizzy. My attems fall back unsuccessfully. The pressure I feel is getting too strong. “Let go. Make me proud. Come on.”

I lose all control over my body and I orgasm. My neck is now almost free. I need to take a breath and Chris knows that. When I come back to myself I feel his touch on my breast. My body is fully supported by Chris'.

“There is my good girl. What do we say?” He is so close to me. I can feel his breath on my face.

“Thank you.” I lean with my face into his. His lips drag on my skin by that action.

“Thank you, what?” His dominant hand is back on the roots of my hair. Grabbing me. Making me comply.

“Thank you, Master.” I know my manners. I also know my partner. If we started like this without me having to hold back I know it will be a long night.

“There is my good bunny.” he smiles into the kisses he is leaving on my skin. Slowly traveling lower into my neck. “I love your neck. So soft. It makes me wanna grab you and never let go.” His breathing got faster. He is like an animal wanting to mark me and it is the next thing he does. His teeth are sharp.

“Don't fight it.” He lifts me up so I can not move from him anymore. “You are not strong enough.  Just let go.” After being warned his teeth finds my soft skin again. It hurts but just enough to make me feel warm in my core again. Moaning again. I can't control myself around him. I tried so many times.

“There we go bunny.” a soft kiss on the marked skin makes me wince. There is going to be a purple mark in a couple of hours. I will have to hide it with a hoodie. Chris knows that I love when he does this but at the same time I want to look professional. So he never marks me to heigh for me to hide them.

Our relationship is full of passion but is built on trust and understanding.

“Now come here, bunny. Let me see you.'' He goes down so we are submerged in the water. The coldness feels so good against my warm folds. I moan a little at the feeling. “Does it feel good, bunny? Hmm.”

My body falls into his arm. It makes me turn to face him. “Answer me, bunny. How does it feel? Use your words. Come on.” his eyes are staring into my souls yet I never felt safer in my life.

“It feels so good, master. Makes me want you more.” I let my arms snake around his neck. I want to be close to him but I let him call the shots. He knows me well enough to give me what I need.

“Lean back. Let's get you wet fully, bunny.” I do as I am told and it feels amazing. When I am back in his arms I see his smile. “Now give me those plump lips.” Pulled into him his lips take mine. Hip lip rings are cold and take my attention. I know he loves it when I play with them. Suck on them.

“Oh you want to suck on me, hmm. Come here then.” he lets go of my body and stands up. He is tall enough for me to be able to please him in the pool.

His hand tilts my head back. “Do you want this?” He knows but teasing me is too much of a fun for him.

“Yes, please. Let me. I was good. Please, master.” he knows I love doing this. I want to make him enjoy himself with me. That is my only task right now.

“No, bunny. You have not been good. You Have been all over the place today. Don't lie.” his fingertips brush against my lips. I use this opportunity to kiss them. After I hear his hum I continue. One finger after the other.

“Let me make it up to you master, please.” He is going to let me suffer here until he is satisfied with his teasing.

“You want to make it up to me, bunny. Open.” I do as I am told again and he puts two of his fingers in my mouth. I don't close yet. I wait for him. “Good girl. Now show me what you wanna do to make it up to me.” That is when I close my mouth around him. I give him a good suck. Letting my tongue play with his fingers.

Even when my eyes are on Chris' face I can see that his big member is getting hard. I take pride in that. Letting out a little moan but never stopping sucking on his long fingers. In the beginning I had trouble taking his fingers and his huge dick but he has been training me. I still have issues sometimes but he is patient with me.

“Make it up to me, bunny.” he lets his fingers out of my mouth. Taking his member in hand instead. “Show me you are sorry.” I open my mouth again. To give him the satisfaction of seeing himself disappear in me. “You're gonna need to open a lot more for me, bunny.”

I do and he lets himself in on my tongue. His size always amazes me. Like he gets bigger every time. I let him take the lead. He is very slow. Allowing me to take as much as I can. I know he is enjoying himself. I love the noises he makes when I am pleasing him.

“Relax, bunny.” he spoke to me before he acted. “Tilt your head. There.” Getting me in a better position before he pushed himself fully into my throat. Trying to relax as much as possible my eyes started to tear up. “There you go. My good little bunny.” Chris' finger brushing my tears away he stayed in place. His heavy member was resting in my throat. I was enjoying it as much as he did. I loved him. All of him.

“And out.” he pulled himself out of my mouth. I caught a little but still looked at him. “You are doing so well, bunny.” He was looking at me lovingly as he pumped himself. “Tell me, bunny, are you loving this? You look so eager. Do you want me back in your throat?”

“Yes, I do. Please let me.” Looking at his penis my mouth watered. I loved doing this.

“You love it so much you forget your manners again, bunny.” Making me look back at him I realized. “Keep your pretty y/e/c orbs on me, bunny. Don't forget yourself.”

“I am sorry, master.'' Being a good girl I make puppy eyes that he can not resist.

“Open up, bunny. I am not done with you.” Eager to do so I let him fuck himself by my mouth. The sweet is glittering on his skin. He looks like an angel. Before I know it he beats himself in my throat again as he comes in warm thick streams. I swallow all of him.

I look at him trying to collect his thoughts. I let him. It took me more than just a moment to collect myself. In the meantime I clean him up nicely.

“My good little, bunny.” he sits down by the poolside with me in my arms. “You did so well. Making me so proud.” I want to be as close to him as possible. I take a lead and kiss him. I know when I can push him and when to just let him have his way.

“Look what you did, bunny.” He preast me in his lap to make me feel how hard he is again. “Come here. Let me take you.” Parting my legs and probing my sweet spot with his pink head was next. “There there.” I sit at him fully but that makes me squik. “Breath, bunny.”

I take a moment to adjust to him. The burns make me wanna cum again but I hold myself. Chris took my chest into inspection in the meantime. Massaging my breast. Pinching my nippless. He makes it so hard for me to focus. I have difficulty with all the stimulation. Chris is loving it. Reading me is like an open book. Taking one of my hardened nippless into his mouth.

I take action into my hands and start to ride him. I have to take it slow because of his size.

“Look at you go, bunny. My good girl.” He starts to meet my thrust with his hips.

“Chris fuck.” I can no longer control myself. I feel like I should be ashamed of my actions but it has been so long.

“I have been so busy, bunny. I know. Enjoy this like a good girl. Take what I have. All of it.” His arms close on me, bringing me closer to him. His lips devour my neck again. “Don't fight against it, bunny. Make me happy. Cum again.”

Being this close to him everything feels more intense. I want to hold it and cum with him. “Slow down.” I breathe out. Trying to get a hold of myself. Chris doesn't do it. He wants to have me fucked out on him. “Honey.” I try to speak again but it is in wail.

“Do it, bunny. Cum. Don't make me do it for you.” He doesn't slow down. Only gets a better hold of me to make sure I can't stop.

“It's too much.” I keep on complaining until I reach my top. I let out a scream and threw my head back. Only then Chris stops slowly.

“There she is.” I am being held in the position for a moment before he brings me back to him. “Come, bunny, give me a kiss.” With him still bearded deep inside me I comply.

“There is my good girl. I am gonna take you upstairs and stuff you like a good bunny you are.” I try to argue but in his hold I can not. When he feels my attempt he trusts himself into me.

“Chris.” I scream as I feel him go impossibly deep inside my folds.

“Be good or I will make you. Remember who is your halder, bunny. We have a lot of catching up to do.” He gets up from the water with me in his arms. “I am gonna fuck you out of your mind little one. Don't make me break you first.” his growl is heard through the walls.

[writingwithciara]

Mistletoe ~Evan "Buck" Buckley~

summary: eddie accidentally schedules two babysitters for christopher 2 nights before christmas eve. he forgot that buck tends to misbehave when around y/n.

word count: 1.7k

pairings: evan "buck" buckley x reader

warning(s): none (that i know of)

a/n: i really wanted to write a christmas imagine and had a hard time thinking of who to write it for. then i remembered all the sweet moments of buck in the christmas episodes of 9-1-1. that smile is so precious and the way he is with christopher just melts my heart. also, this is my first piece of work for 9-1-1. hope you enjoy it.

masterlist

"Buck, I need you to watch Christopher tonight while I go shopping for his presents." Eddie looked over at his best friend.

"Sure. No problem." Buck approached his locker and put his bag inside. "Won't you need someone to help you shop?"

"No. I think I'll be good this year. Thanks though." Eddie smiled and went upstairs. He could smell Bobby's cooking from down the road and his mouth had been watering ever since. Buck just chuckled and followed his friend to the table.

After their long shift of incredibly odd calls, Eddie was ready to go get some shopping done. Buck walked over to him and they left the building together.

"Thanks again for this, man. Christopher has been bugging me to get you over there."

"He misses me that much?" Buck chuckled.

"Oh, absolutely." Eddie was about to climb into his truck but stopped when he thought of one more thing to say to Buck. "Just so you know, I'm not paying you for this."

"I figured that much." Buck got in his jeep and drove away.

When Eddie got home, there was another car in the driveway that he knew wasn't Carla's. He walked in slowly, expecting to not find Christopher. but when he walked into the living room, he saw Christopher sitting on the couch. He was alone but he was watching a Christmas movie.

"Hey, Christopher. Are you home alone? I don't know why I'm asking. There's obviously someone here."

"Y/n is here."

As if on cue, y/n walked out of the kitchen, carrying a tray of Christmas cookies and some icing, as well as some candies and sprinkles for decoration.

"Oh, hey." she offered Eddie a smile and set the tray on the coffee table. "Didn't hear you come in."

"Just got home." he looked at her as she slid onto the floor. "What exactly are you doing here?"

"You asked me to watch Christopher tonight, remember?"

"Oh, crap. I knew I was forgetting something." he started pacing and y/n stood back up to walk over to him.

"What's going on?

"I asked Buck this morning if he could watch Christopher. I totally forgot I had already asked you."

"I can go if you think it'll be a problem."

"No, it's fine. You can stay." he smiled. "But if Buck starts misbehaving, feel free to slap him or something."

"It's the Christmas season. I'm sure he'll behave."

Seconds later, Buck walked into the house and froze when he saw y/n. "Wow, Eddie. Didn't know you and y/n were this close."

"Knock it off, Buckley. I'm here because Eddie asked me to watch Christopher tonight."

"He asked me to watch Christopher." Buck turned to look at Eddie, who had already disappeared into his room to change. "Eddie, what are we going to do about this?"

"Listen, you both haven't spent a whole lot of time with Christopher. He misses you both so you should both stay." Eddie left his room and walked to the front door. "Buck, please behave yourself."

"Don't I always?"

"No." Eddie and y/n said at the same time, both earning an eye roll from Buck.

"Okay. I promise to behave myself. Have fun, Eddie."

"I'll definitely try." he chuckled and left y/n to deal with Buck alone.

"Okay, so what are we doing tonight?"

"Well, Christopher and I were going to decorate some cookies. You're more than welcome to join us." y/n walked back to the living room and sat on the floor. Christopher sat across from her and Buck sat at the end of the table.

Christopher grabbed a cookie and looked at the different colors of icing. "Would a purple tree look cool?"

Buck and y/n both nodded, causing Christopher's smile to grow as he dipped the spreader in the purple icing bowl and began decorating his cookie. Y/n reached for the red spoon at the same time as Buck.

"Ladies first." Buck chuckled awkwardly. "I'll just use the green for my reindeer."

"Thanks, Buck." she eyed him suspiciously as he began spreading the icing over his reindeer cookie. y/n slowly began to decorate her cookie, her eyes still on Buck.

Just over an hour later, almost all of the cookies were decorated. Christopher was working on the last one while Buck helped him. Y/n was in the kitchen making cocoa. As she entered the living room with the tray of drinks, Buck was in the middle of telling Christopher a story.

"-and the year before you and your dad moved here, y/n & I competed in a Gingerbread House building contest. I knew I stood no chance because her skills are the best."

"Thanks, Buckley." she smiled and sat back in her spot. Buck set the icing container back on the table and grabbed his drink, also passing one mug to Christopher. He took a sip and smiled.

"This tastes so good!" Christopher exclaimed. Buck sipped his and raised an eyebrow.

"Is there anything you're not good at?"

"Evan Buckley, are you complimenting me again? I am shocked." y/n sipped her drink and smiled while Buck just stared at her. "What? Do I have something on my face?" she set her mug down and frantically wiped her face.

"No. There's nothing on it. I'm just really blown away at how good you are at all these Christmas things."

"Flattery must be your Christmas present to me this year."

"What did you get me, Buck?" Christopher asked.

"You're gonna have to wait and see, buddy." Buck ruffled Christopher's hair, causing him to laugh. He yawned seconds later and looked at the 2 adults in charge of watching him.

"I'm tired. Can you read me a story?" he looked over at y/n. She was already beginning to clean up. Buck grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Go put him to bed. I got it out here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's not that bad." Buck chuckled and watched as y/n ran off to Christopher's room to read him a story.

Buck was still cleaning up when y/n returned to the living room. "Need any help, Buck?"

"Nope. Just about done." he picked up the tray of cookies and brought it into the kitchen. Y/n followed and looked around.

"How long was I in the room?"

"Long enough for me to clean up out there and do all the dishes in here."

"Okay, what's with you tonight?"

"What do you mean?" he looked up at her just as he put the last cookie in the container. He shoved the plastic into the pantry and leaned against the counter.

"You've been giving me nothing but compliments and you did something I have never seen you do." she watched as he crossed his arms. "What's up with that?"

"I can't be nice for one night? I do want to be on the Nice list this year, you know."

"You're a firefighter, Evan. I think you're on the nice list permanently."

"I meant on your nice list this year."

"And what do you mean by that?" this time, it was her turn to cross her arms and lean against the counter across from him.

"Every year since we've known each other, I spend months teasing you and even though I know it annoys you, I keep doing it. Then, when Christmas comes around, your attitude changes and you act like nothing happened. And for the last 2 years, we got caught under the mistletoe at every party but whenever I pointed it out, you walked away and ended up with Eddie for the rest of the night, completely avoiding me. I thought that maybe if I stopped teasing you for a while, this year would be different and you wouldn't leave me alone under the mistletoe."

"Why are you so desperate to get me underneath the mistletoe? Do you, like, have a crush on me or something?" she laughed, at first believing her question to be a joke, but when Buck just looked down t his feet, she stopped laughing.

"No, I don't have a crush on you."

"Buck, just tell me the truth."

"Okay, fine. Yes, but no." he looked up at her and she moved her hand in a way that told him to elaborate more. "It's not a crush, per say. It's more of a so-deeply-in-love feeling and I have no clue how to handle it."

"Still not following."

"How do you not get that I just want to kiss you every single time I see you? But every time I think about it, I feel like this fear is hanging over me like a dark shadow that's waiting until I just give up so it can devour me. The only times I've actually come close to facing that fear were around Christmastime. But then, you leave. It's hard to kiss you when you don't want the same thing." he sighed and stood up straighter.

Y/n looked up at him and for the first time since she's known him, he actually looked vulnerable. She also noticed that there was mistletoe hanging in the kitchen. So she walked over to Buck, stood up on her toes and placed a kiss to his cheek. The look he gave her was a look of surprise.

"What was that for?"

"Well, it's Christmas and I'm not leaving you under the mistletoe alone this year." she smiled and looked at him.

"It's not exactly what I wanted to happen under the mistletoe but I'll take it anyway because you didn't run away this year."

[i feel like this was the perfect ending. but i also added a little more for anyone who wants to keep reading. it's below the separator if you're curious to see what happened after. but for those of you who are satisfied with this ending, do not read further unless you're just super curious anyway.]

"And why would I run away from something I really want?"

"Wait, for real?"

"Yes, Buck." she looked at him again. "Since day 1."

"Then why did you run away from me the last 2 years?"

"I don't know. Fear of failing or rejection probably."

"For the record, I would never reject you."

"The feeling's mutual." she held onto his hand and smiled.

"Is this the part where we kiss for real?" he searched her eyes for any sign of objection but when she smiled, he knew it was okay. He placed a gentle kiss to her lips. One so delicate that it was as if it didn't happen.

"Kiss me lie you mean it, Buckley." she smirked and pulled him down to her level, kissing him with all the feelings she's had for the past 4 years. For both of them, it just felt right.

[restapesta]

23. Don’t you get it? You’re the only one I can be honest with.

Mickey takes being alone with Ian for granted. He really does.

It's quite sad he only realizes that when he's not alone with his ginger life companion—specifically when he's stuck in a moving car with him and fucking Phillip, feeling like a pussy for not having the guts to just open the door and jump out.

Did Ian put child's lock on his door, what the fuck?

He can't do this. It's a fifteen-minute ride to the Gallagher house and Mickey won't be able to survive it. No fucking way. Why did Ian have to say yes to picking Lip up from work? Did he know what hell he would be putting his poor husband through, huh?

If college bitch says something about his shitty delivery job one more time, he swears to God—

"And you know what the best part about this shitty delivery job is?" No. Please, God, make him stop. "Bathroom? Doesn't even fucking exist,"

If Mickey had a gun, he'd stuff it in his mouth.

From the corner of his eye, Mickey sees Ian's gripping the wheel slightly tighter, his knuckles turning white, his tongue bitten between his slightly clenched teeth. Sadly, only Mickey can see him be so frustrated from the passenger seat. He wishes Lip would lean over from the back and see how fucking annoying he really is with his constant babbling.

Maybe it's good he didn't bring a gun with him—Ian looks like he'd wanna stuff it in his mouth, too.

Does he have child's lock on?

"Anyways," Lip breathes out and Mickey focuses on the buzzing of the AC so he wouldn't have to endure the brainwashing his brother-in-law's—why him?—voice is doing.

Ian seems to be thinking the same thing, his eyes rolling discreetly to the back of his head, staying there for a moment or two.

Mickey's torn between telling him to keep his eyes on the goddamn road or just letting him crash their new car into a pole. At least then they wouldn't have to listen to the yapping that's filling every nook and cranny of the fresh interior.

Their car had never seemed so small. Since when is Mickey so claustrophobic? There used to be so much room.

Oh right, Lip's ego is taking up most of it. How could Mickey forget?

"Oh, yeah," He says suddenly, and Ian and Mickey share a look. What now? Will he ever stop? "I meant to ask you about your meds, Ian. You told me you were visiting your doctor or some shit like that."

Mickey reclines back in his seat, lips pursing as he waits for Ian to fill Lip in on the new prescription and its side effects, and whatever other shit Mickey's already got written down in the notes on his phone from when Ian told him in detail about it.

He had been pretty down when he came home from seeing his doctors, listing off all of the shit he was worried about with the new therapy and adjusting to it. He even had a couple of sleepless nights that resulted in him seeking out different pharmacies to buy sleeping pills, which ultimately led to a night of sleepless vomiting because the cocktail of pills didn't really bode well for Ian's stomach.

Mickey doesn't mind reliving it. Doesn't mind listening to his husband talk about the things important to him and things that Mickey should know about.

And, truthfully, Mickey's already come face to face with the fact that he likes knowing about all of Ian's shit—they're already living, sleeping, and working together, so the prospect of knowing that new meds give Ian diarrhea if they're taken on an empty stomach doesn't really seem like a TMI-type of thing to know.

When Ian's related, nothing and everything is pretty much TMI.

"Oh," Ian responds after a moment of silence. His eyes aren't focused when Mickey turns to look at him. It seems as if he's racking his brain around for the proper words, yet can't seem to find them. Eventually, he just lets out, "Everything's the same. Nothing new."

Mickey knows that's not true.

"Didn't you say you were being put on some new shit?" Lip's confused. Mickey is too.

Ian was put on new shit. Shit that landed him with a week of goddamn exhaustion and a fucked-up stomach.

"No. It's the same."

"Oh," Lip mutters. "Okay then."

And he continues to go into another monologue about why being a delivery boy is such a shitty job to have with a mind of his.

Mickey stares at Ian's side profile for as long as it takes him to turn around and meet his eye. It takes him long—in fact, Mickey's pretty sure Ian won't be turning around any time soon.

Why would he lie? Why would he hide the fact he did change his meds when it's really not that big of a deal?

Mickey's even more confused by it because Ian had ranted about his doctor's appointment the day of it, nearly talking Mickey's ear off. He had been annoyed, relieved, and worried, all at the same time, and the entire Tuesday was just spent with them talking about bipolar like the mundane thing it was.

So, why wouldn't Ian just want to retell that shit again? It wasn't as if he didn't still have frustrations over it. Not like he wouldn't fucking jump on the chance to talk about his biggest concerns the second the opportunity presented itself.

Why then?

Lip's still talking and Ian's still not looking at him.

Mickey places a gentle hand on his thigh, trying to get his attention. In response to Mickey's thumb running over his husband's jeans, Ian just places a hand on top of his, picking it up and raising it to his mouth until the rough skin meets the smoothness of his lips. When he finally looks at him, there's a plead in his eye. An answer to Mickey's unasked question.

Later.

"Ugh, can you guys not do that here? Since when did you become that couple?"

They both ignore the dumbass in the backseat of their car. Ian turns to look ahead, and he pushes his foot down visibly on the gas pedal, and Mickey knows that the time until they're able to drop Lip off is cutting shorter.

"You guys are really annoying with that mind-reading shit, you know that?"

Mickey breathes in deeply.

Five more minutes. Just five more minutes and they'll be alone.

Ian's hand doesn't disentangle from his, but Mickey does move them so they're laying on top of his leg, palms pressed tightly together. He squeezes at it once.

Ian squeezes back.

There's a faint mumble from the back.

"I fucking hate being the third wheel."

Mickey barely stops himself from jumping into Ian's lap, just in spite.

Instead, with his free hand, he just flips him off.

---

They're driving to their place when Mickey finally asks the question. They've been alone for a couple of minutes now, after a prolonged—much to both their dismays—goodbye to Lip in front of the Gallagher house. As soon as it was appropriate to, Ian peeled out of the driveway, putting as much distance between him and his family—his annoying-ass brother—as he possibly could in a record time.

At first, Mickey fiddled with the radio until he landed on some radio station that played pop-shit music, lowering the volume until the Taylor Swift song—he hates that he knows it—was just a hum filling the silence. Ian isn't speaking, but he doesn't seem tense.

He seems just as always, shoulders even further relaxed—slumped, actually, because he has the posture of a question mark—now that Lip is out of the car and in the hands of the others to deal with.

"So," Mickey starts casually when his weirdo of a partner starts singing lowly to Lover on the radio. It's a song they only listen to when they're feeling sappier than usual, but Ian tends to always be sappy, so none of this sweet singing shit was a surprise for Mickey. The lyrics coming out of Ian's mouth still make his chest swell pleasantly, despite him barely holding himself back from rolling his eyes. "What was that?"

"Hm?" Ian's eyes momentarily move to eye Mickey. They go back almost immediately. "What was what?"

"What was that thing with Lip?" The question isn't meant to be judgmental nor accusing. Mickey really is just curious.

It wasn't him whom Ian had lied to. But why did he lie in the first place?

Ian shrugs, lowering the volume with the switch on the wheel even further until they can barely hear the soft voice.

"I just didn't feel like telling him." Is the simple reply.

"Why?"

"Because."

"Ian."

"Mickey—"

"Come on, man, don't give me that bullshit."

"I'm not—I don't," He exhales roughly as if finally forcing himself to admit to something he doesn't want to admit to. "I don't like anybody knowing about it. It's nobody's business but my own."

Mickey makes a face, still confused as fuck. He gets the reasoning behind the words, but it's just not clicking in his brain. Maybe Lip really did brainwash it. "You say you don't like anybody knowing, but you told me."

Ian glances away from the road and sends Mickey the type of look that says he thinks what Mickey just said was the dumbest thing possible. It's incredulous.

"You're not anybody, Mick."

And that's sweet and all, but—

"Lip's not anybody either."

Ian sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, dramatically exasperated. "Don't you get it, Mickey? You're the only one I can be honest with. Completely transparent."

Mickey doesn't know why he's still pushing, but fuck, there's no way. "You can be transparent with Lip. He'll hear you out, give you advice. Won't judge you." Why is he defending Lip again? "I'm not the only one who understands."

"Yeah, but you're the only one who isn't annoying about it. If I wanted Lip to know, I would've called him straight away. But instead, I talked to you. Mickey, you're a dumbass if you don't see that you're the only one I want to tell."

Well fuck.

Mickey blinks. He actually is a dumbass, but that's already been genetically proven. This is something else.

Mickey feels Ian's words deep in his chest. His heart jumps to his throat—it's one of the best things Ian could've said to him. It doesn't feel fucking real.

"Really?" He asks pathetically. It's not like Ian would lie; he's always had a knack for saying everything that's on his mind. Mickey loves that about him right now. It's just that—Mickey? He wants to tell Mickey about it and nobody else?

Ian smiles at him. "Really, babe," Mickey blushes as the nickname. "You know just how many questions to ask. When to listen and when to talk. When to give me advice and when to tell me to get out of my own head." Ian's eyebrows furrow. "Lip doesn't know how to do that. Not like you—"

No. Mickey will not cry. No. It's just eyeball sweat.

"—With you, I know that I can say whatever is on my mind and won't feel like shit about it. It's fucking liberating, having somebody like that."

Mickey breathes in deeply. Fuck Ian for using his words like this and making his heart squeeze impossibly. Why is he so fucking perfect all the fucking time?

How did Mickey get so fucking lucky?

"Yeah," He responds dumbly, out of breath—because it legit is logged up in his throat at the moment. He clears it. "I guess that's what best friends are for."

And the grin Ian sends him in response to the sheepishly-said sentence is enough to make butterflies explode inside Mickey's belly—ugh, no, he's supposed to be past that stage, for fuck's sake.

Ian's still grinning as Mickey's whole face probably turns the shade of Ian's favorite vegetable—maybe that's why Ian likes it when Mickey blushes—and he has to avert his gaze so he doesn't go even redder than Ian's hair.

"Best friends? I feel honored, Mick."

"Shut up."

"No, for real."

"Shut up."

Ian laughs and spares Mickey the embarrassment by raising the volume up on the radio, the song now booming loudly through the space.

Ian glances over at Mickey right as he starts singing it joyfully, a wide smile on his face. This is the Ian Mickey knows and loves—happy Ian.

Mickey's favorite Ian after the horny one.

Mickey's chest swells with pride. He ended up with Ian. The Ian who loves him unconditionally; who knows just the right to say and when to say it; who just told him Mickey's the only one he can be real with.

I can only be honest with you, too. He wants to tell him. I only am honest with you.

Instead of saying the words, he starts singing himself, and the screeching voices of two men stupidly in love are seeping out of the slightly opened windows, the wind whooshing them away.

I can only do this with you, Mickey thinks. I'm only this free with you.

Judging by the way Ian's smiling, Mickey guesses he's thinking the same thing, too.

"Darling, you're my, my, my, my lover."

[mayansmcsblog]

Her world or mine

I have no idea when i wrote this but i found it in my drafts half done so i finished it and- yh that's about it😅

This was meant to be based upon the song her world or mine but i got off track so its only loosely based upon it.

word count: 3640

Enjoy!

He hasn't used the truck for weeks, he had no reason to anymore, being in it only brought back memories of you. The long drives, the short drives too. The way you would hold his hand while he was driving or how you would remind him to pay attention to the road when he looked in your direction for too long. All the memories were fresh within his mind- almost as if it was yesterday. 

Even now, he was only sitting in it, he had to do the beer run and obviously that couldn't be done on a bike, he had to take the truck, but all he could think about was how you used to sit in the passenger seat beside him. He could see it in his mind so vividly, if he didn’t know you had moved on he would swear you were sitting with him. 

Looking at the dash his gaze caught the Polaroid photo that was still in its place next to the radio. Your face accompanied a smile whilst his had his usual ‘tough’ man expression, but if you looked close enough, you would be able to see a small smile placed upon his lips. You took it at one of the infamous Mayans parties, he remembered how it took you around 10 minutes to ‘convince’ him to take it, he wanted to take it from the moment you suggested it but he wondered how far you would go to get him to do it

-

“Please” you had been begging him for the last 5 minutes in attempt to get him to take a photo with you but to no avail

“No” you two were sitting on the bench outside the clubhouse, people surrounding the both of you, everyone was involved on their own conversations so neither of you paid any mind to them. Of course he was still aware of his surroundings but was more relaxed than usual

“But come on” you begged

“No y/n” he kept his face as straight as he could but you could slowly see a shadow of a smirk forming upon his lips

“Why?”

“No face no case” he shrugged with a slight smirk on his face, clearly that was a lie. Not even 20 minus prior you had taken a photo of all of the club members standing outside of the clubhouse per bishop’s request so he could frame it and hang it somewhere within the clubhouse to show off the members.

“Why are you so stubborn?”

“Why are you so adamant? “He questioned

“Because” 

“Because what?” standing up he motioned for you to do so as well,

“Just because”

“Come on follow me”

Standing up you took this hand as led you away from the party,

“Where are we going?”

“To take this god damn photo”

-

Recalling that night he felt a pain inevitably run across his chest, sure you two were only friends when it was taken but that night was the foundation for building the relationship you two once shared. 

Why had he been so stupid to let you go?

He knew he would have to drive past your place to get to the brewery, it was inevitable really. There was no other way unless he was going to drive an extra 30 minutes, which he didn't have time for.

when he reached the turn in to your street he slowed down a little, looking at your house from a distance he could see a car he didn’t recognize in the driveway. As he got closer he could see two people on the porch, he immediately recognized you accompanied by some guy. 

Of course you had someone else.

-----

Sitting on the couch you couldn't help but let your mind drift back to him, you missed his smile, you missed the way he would have a running commentary while watching anything on the TV, you missed how he would hold you after a long day, you missed everything about him.

“You’re thinking about him again, aren't you?” 

You did nothing but hum in response

Your brother had elected to stay with you for a few weeks while he was on a business trip for some type of expansion for the company he worked for. Originally it was a good idea, it kept you mind off Ez, but the more time your brother was here, the more he talked about his wife back home and how he couldn't wait to get back to her just made you think about how you don't have someone in your life to look forward to anymore, you no longer had someone you could tell everything to, someone who would stay by your side, someone you knew would be waiting for you when you were away from home. As much as you loved your brother, you were thankful he was leaving tomorrow

“Im gonna go get a drink” standing up you heard your brother mumble something in response but you elected ignored him and heading to the kitchen.

As you approached the fridge you spotted the picture of you and Ezekiel stuck on the door. You were pretty sure it was Coco who had taken when him, you, Ez and Angel went over the border for a day because none of you had anything to do and for some reason Mexico was the first thing that was suggested. You had been meaning to get rid of it but couldn't bring yourself to. Alot of memories were collected between the four of you, some of them you were just not ready to let go of yet.

By now he was probably already in another relationship so why were you still holding on?

Grabbing a bottle of water you headed outside and sat on the porch steps. You knew there was a party at the clubhouse tonight, Angel had invited you to come, but you knew Ez would be there. 

Did you really want to see a girl all over him while you're still here alone? Because that would definitely happen

Maybe he wouldn't be there? Or maybe he would be too busy doing stuff to even realize you were there 

You were too wrapped up in your own mind to even realize your brother had stepped outside till you heard a creak from the wood behind you 

“Y/n?”

“Yeah” 

“you okay?" He asked sitting beside you

 “yep"

You two sat in silence for a few moments before he started talking once again

“I love you ye? Don’t let that boy ruin you. He lost you by his own fault. You did nothing” he rambled on about how you should have been treated better and how Ez lost the best thing he could ever have. But you knew he was wrong.

Ezekiel always treated you like a queen, your brother met him one time and barely spoke to him for longer than five minutes. As far as you were concerned you brother didn't know anything about him

While he was rambling you were looking into the distance, mainly just looking at the sky but you could have sworn you saw his truck drive past, but maybe you were just seeing things right? His truck wasn't the only one, there were probably millions of them.

-

The party was in full swing, people were everywhere, the room full of patches from all over. mass amounts of people from charters were visiting in celebration of a new deal with the sons, leaving Ez to tend the bar along with some hang rounds.

Wiping down the bar he couldn't help but think about you for the billionth time today. He knew you two broke things off but it didn't mean you had to leave everyone from the club behind as well as him.

"Bro what the hell is wrong with you?" Angel questioned

"Nothing" shrugging his shoulders he dropped the bar rag and turned to get angel a beer from the fridge behind him

"Stop lyin man, what's going on in that head?" Angel knew his own brother better then to believe 'nothing' was going on with him, something was always going on up in Ez's brain, even if he didn't admit it

"I dunno man, I just think it's weird how y/n left us you know?" Ez shrugged again, handing angel a beer

"She didn't leave us. She’s distancing herself. Got a lot of family shit going on right now" he explained, you kept Angel in the loop with everything, after all he was your best friend even before Ez and you got together, if Ez wouldn't tell you something- Angel would.

"Just think it’s weird" Ez repeated, messing with the bar rag once again

"Ya well she’s coming tonight”

Before Ez could respond coco stood next to Angel 

"Who’s comin?"

The brothers looked at each other for a moment before angel came up with an idea 

"Just some random bird for our boy scout to bed"

"My man," Coco chuckled "finally gonna get your dick wet huh?"

----

You knew this was a bad idea, you knew he would be here. 

Was he going to be with another girl? Actually stupid question, of course he would be

Opening your phone you sent angel a text

‘I'm like five minutes out but i swear to God if you abandon me tonight i will hit you so hard that you can't remember anything for a week’

At least he would walk in with you so you weren’t alone right?

---

Angel stood up abruptly in the middle of a conversation he was having

"Where the fuck you going?" Coco questioned, lighting a cigarette from the chair he was sitting in

"Meet a friend"

"A friend huh?"

"Yeah...maybe you'll like her" Angel replied before grabbing his beer and retreating towards the door.

---

Walking through the gate you saw the front of the club littered with patches. Some of them were from different charters. Weird, angel never mentioned other charters visiting, by the look of the outside, you could only imagine the clubhouse itself is packed with people.

Scanning the crowd you spotted the person in question walking towards you

“Hey stupid face”

“good evening stupid head”

“that's basically the same thing i just said” 

"oh shut up i couldn't think of insult fast enough”

Pulling you into a hug you couldn't help but feel a little more relaxed. Angel was always like an older brother to you, an annoying one at that but still a brother.

It had been weeks since you saw him, being back in his company made you feel safe again, almost like a sense of home

He placed a kiss on your temple “We missed you here”

“Yeah, I know” letting him go you looked around, mainly to see if any of the other guys were in sight but also to see if coco was around, expecting to be attacked as per usual. 

Angel took notice of you scanning the crowd “He's inside”

“Hmm? Sorry I got no idea what you're on about”

Pulling you into his side he wrapped an arm around your shoulders “sure ya don't”

Walking inside you scanned the crowd once again, thankfully coco was nowhere to be seen for the moment and most of the guys were spread out around the room. Bishop and Taza were playing pool, Gilly and Creeper were sitting at the table in a conversation whilst hank sat opposite them looking at something on his phone, Ez was tending the bar like usual but this time he was accompanied by some hang rounds.

At least there isn't girls hanging off him yet 

“C'mon let’s get a drink huh” angel lightly shoved you towards the bar playfully.

“No”

“No?” his eyebrows raised playfully

“No and if you try to make me go over there with you i promise i will embarrass you” you laughed 

“Fine”

After he got the drinks you both sat at a table in the corner for a while talking, the majority of the topics were about what had been happening while you were distanced from everyone.

Eventually Coco spotted you two and joined in the conversation. you sat talking to the two of them while everyone else was up to their own things, you didn't mind, the both of them combined made for some very interesting storys, the conversation could never die. After around 10 minutes, Angel had left you two alone saying he “wasn't bout to listen to this shit ''- which was super ironic considering the topic of conversation was about modifications for a new bike coco had brought a few days ago

“How does your bike handle anyway? I heard they are bottom heavy and hard to manoeuvre sometimes” you questioned. overtime Ez had taught you some things about bikes, mainly when he was just rambling about random things not thinking you were really paying attention to what he was saying

“It’s alright i guess, sometimes it slips when I lean too far on corners, other times it tends to not wanna go the way I need to but other than that it handles pretty well, arms hurt like a bitch after long ride though” he explained

Nodding your head you understood where he was coming from, having your arms at that angle for hours must have taken its toll

“Ay '' he nodded his head towards someone behind you, Turning your head you saw it was Ez walking through the door with Angel, seemingly engrossed in some type of conversation they were having.

Despite spotting him earlier you only scanned over his appearance but now you actually took a good look at him, he looked different, not much but still different from before. His hair was in the same style but it little more grown out then usual, his facial hair had grown out a little too. His eyes had bangs underneath them and his face looked drained.

All in all he looked like shit.

“You know he’s not the same without you right?” bringing your attention back to coco you couldn't help but feel like you were to blame, maybe if you fought harder of him you two would have never split.

“You two spoke since?” he questioned

“Nope...I got a few drunk calls saying he was sorry but other than that. No” you shook your head. 

After you two first broke up he called you around a week later rambling about something but since he was slurring his words- you could barely understand anything he was saying. You got about 2 voicemails of him saying he was sorry and how he fucked up but- you never spoke to him, never texted him back when he would ask you if you were coming to one of the parties.

“The amount of times we've had to stop him from drunk calling you is unreal”

Playing with the label on the beer bottle in front of you, you thought about what coco said- clearly Ez had attempted to talk to you at some point, but why? The whole breakup was because he needed “space” to deal with some things so why was he trying to talk to you?

“He wanted space, I gave it to him” you shrugged, slowly peeling off the label

“Didn’t mean you had to leave us too” looking up from the bottle you saw coco was now avoiding your gaze

“Yeah...I know” maybe it was wrong of you to drop everyone, but being around them would have only brought back memories of you and Ez. At the time it seemed like a good idea to distance yourself from all of the guys, but now, despite only being here for a hour, you could tell how much you really missed being around them.

“You know he’s walking over here right?” Dropping your head onto the table you let out a sigh causing coco to laugh “I’ll leave you two alone huh?” lifting your head up you looked at him with a facial expression as if to say ‘don’t leave me’ but he did anyway

“Y/n” his voice was low, almost as if he didn’t believe he was saying your name again

“Ezekiel”

“Can we talk?”

“We are talking” sitting up straight you turned in your seat to look at him. He looked even worse up close- the bags under his eyes were alot darker then they seemed from a distance, they made it appear like he hadn’t slept for days, you couldn’t help but notice he had a bruise slowly forming on top of his right eyebrow.

“What happened there?”

He looked confused for a moment till you pointed to his eyebrow

“Oh I erm…got into a fight.....with a wall” his eyes were trained onto the floor, almost like he was ashamed.

You hummed in response not sure how to respond without laughing 

“So how have you been?” he questions

“Good i guess..how about you?”

“Alright I suppose”

What followed was nothing but silence between the both of you, neither of you knowing what to say. The sounds of other people talking and rock music became almost deafening as the two of you stayed silent

“Well this got really awkward fast” you spoke up causing Ez to laugh a little

“Yeah..yeah it did” he nodded

After a few more moments you stood from your chair “I'm just gonna-”

“Yeah go, i get it go ahead” he finished your sentence for you.

Nodding you quickly made your way outside, the yard was almost empty by now, people had either left for the night or had moved inside.

You spotted Angel sitting on the front steps fiddling with one of the rings on his hand while looking at something in the distance. You sat beside him in silence, neither of you even attempting to make conversation but simply just being trapped within your own minds.

When you and Ez broke up you knew things would change, you knew the two of you probably wouldn't be able to have the same conversations you would before, but you never expected them being so awkward.

Maybe it was just because the wound was still pretty fresh, after all it had only been just over a month

After a few minutes you heard the door behind you open as someone stepped out, seconds later a figure sat next to you, looking over you saw it was coco

“What we doin? havin a lil moment to yourselves” he asked lighting up a cigarette and offering the both of you one

“Yep” Angel responded, taking one and lighting it before looking somewhere in the distance once again. All three of you sat for a few minutes just looking at seemingly nothing in particular.

Maybe it won't be like this forever? At some point there has got to be a time where you can come to the club without feeling awkward because ez’s here.

You heard the clubhouse door open once more behind you and once again, you didn't turn around, but coco did

"Ay man sit" you heard him say as he snapped his fingers at space left beside him to whoever stepped out from the door. It didn't take long for whoever it was to sit down.

Much like he did with you and Angel, Coco offered the person a cigarette which they must of silently declined from the lack of verbal exchange.

There has to be a point when you and the club can all hang out together like before....there has to be a stage where you and Ez can talk like normal people without it being awkward….right?

Seemingly out of no were Coco spoke up, nodding his head towards two stacked benches on the opposite side of the yard "You think i could clear those in one attempt?"

Angel was the first to respond "Absolutely fucking not" he paused for a moment- looking where the benches were stacked "but I'd love to see you try"

"I bet $50 you fail and fall face first" someone spoke up, looking to your left you finally realized who stepped out earlier ..Ezekiel

"Bet, ill prove you wrong" coco stood, taking off his kutte and placing it on the stair rail "you two wanna place any bets?" Coco looked at you and Angel

"Nope, I'm good" you shook your head

"I bet $50 that you don't clear it" Angel responded

"You have no faith pretty boy" coco responded, shaking his head  as he started to walk over to the benches

"This is going to end in a hospital trip" you stated making both Angel and Ez laugh

All three of you watched as coco seemed to examine the height of the two benches, planning the distance he would have to run to gain enough speed to propel himself over them and how he would land the jump

"You think he's gonna snap his nose again?" Ezekiel questioned

"Definitely" both you and Angel replied

All three of you watched as coco began to run towards the benches, from your angle it looked as if he could clear it....you were wrong. 

Seconds later coco was laying face first in the dirt, one leg was on the floor while the other was stuck in a piece of wood on the bench that had broke underneath his weight

"I think i broke my nose" you heard coco exclaimed causing all three of you to laugh. The few people who were still outside drew their attention to the scene and started laughing too when they realized what happened.

"Ill go get some paper towels" you said, still laughing.

Maybe this was a sign nothing had changed between the four of you, that you could all still hang out and do stupid stuff like before

Maybe nothing has to change

-------------

An| hope you enjoyed this fic. Honestly have no idea why or when i started writing this but 🤷🏼‍♀️ . *sorry for any spelling or grammar errors or any parts that don't make sense. only scanned it before posting it*

ALSO- i swear part two to the prank war is coming! Its just talking awhile for me to find a way to describe to things going on as well as being busy with other stuff.

[obscureoperations]

them w/an s/o apologizing for being a pathetic waste of time <3

Noooo! 🥺😭Mkay here goes..

Martin:

It was rare that Martin got to witness you in such a way, usually you were the beacon of positivity. It was one of the things that first attracted him to you..your ability to light up a room. You balanced each other out perfectly, you offset his somber demeanor. He found himself starting to smile and laugh more from the very day that he met you.

But this was something different entirely, the young man had no idea what to do. You seemed to grow progressively somber and withdrawn over the past few days. He found you sitting at the edge of the windowsill around two thirty in the afternoon. He had gotten off work early and was surprised to see your car in the driveway. He was so excited to come in and see you.

He watched you for a moment from the doorframe, with your head in your hands. What was wrong. The moment he heard you sniffle, he's instantly at your side.. you were still startled to see him. Wiping at your eyes, you try your best to offer a cheery smile. Martin was having none of it. Wiping at your cheeks leaning in to kiss your forehead.

"Y/n?"

"I-Im sorry..."

He was extremely confused. He was used to being the one to dish out apologies. With a sigh, he leans in pressing his forehead against yours.

"Sorry for what love?"

A woosh of air escapes your lungs and Martin pulls you close.

"F-for being such a waste of space."

He was baffled, honestly at a loss for words. What did you mean a waste of space? You were the most important person in the world to him, surely you knew that.

"Don't..y/n.."

More tears begin to stream down your cheeks , and st as qickly Martin wipes them away.

"Don't ever say that. I--I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you."

Whiteface:

The past few months sped by in a blur, the mime was the happiest he had ever been. To think the two of you met completely by accident when he spotted your bike at the side of the road. The gang pulled over instantly when they saw you crumpled down on the pavement. The mirror of your bike was completely shattered laying a few feet to the left.

Needless to say they came to a complete still and alerted the medic, Whiteface had no idea what was going on. Carefully peering out the side of the traveling tent, he finally realized there was an accident. Not one to be able to stomach blood and gore, the slender sprite stayed in the tent. Oddly anxious, he found himself praying that this stranger would be alright. 

Days pass and apparently they decided to scoop you up and take you to your actual destination. They didn't mind, Billy had officially taken the crown of another city, so for the most part the crew was just celebrating the win. He liked to stay in the tent with Merlin as he tends to your wounds and brings you sacred offerings. Things that would help you heal, Small satchels filled with various powders.

He grew to really enjoy your presence and for the most part, you seemed to like the company. You always made a point to apologize for being such an inconvenience.. The mime tried his best to assure that was not the case. Personal improvisational shows, juggling various objects he fond in the room. The sound of your laughter was msic to his ears--it was rare that he got to get this close to his audience.

As time passes, the mime finds himself liking you more than he actually should. The moment he arose, he couldn't wait to get to your bunker. He wanted to see how well Merlin's magic was working. You seemed to grow stronger by the day, and it excited him--but at the same time left him with a sense of dread. You were gonna leave eventually. That much could have been expected, but the mime really didn’t think about that. Too wrapped up in basking in your  presence-- it surprised him to find you quietly sniffling in the corner of the room one morning.

The moment, he unzip the tent you appear startled, quickly wiping at your eyes. His first thought was that you were in pain, and contemplated calling for Merlin. You try your best to play it off. “Mornin’ sunshine..” That was the nickname you officially gave him. He was having none of it.. the sprite eases his way into the tent, clasping it behind him, before rushing to your side.

In an attempt to meet your gaze, you glance away even as he moves to cup your cheeks. Wiping the stray tears away, his heart hammers against his ribs like a caged bird. This was the closest he’s ever been to you. Actually touching you in a way not merely in passing. He hated seeing you in pain. What happened? Whiteface tries his best to get you to look at him.

“I’m sorry.” you finally whisper. At this point he was completely baffled. He settles on lightly pressing his forehead against yours, silently hoping that you’d continue to speak.

“I’m sorry for being such a waste of space..” 

Where on earth was this coming from.. did someone say something? The wheels begin to spin in his mind. All of the gang, himself included were happy to have you along for the ride. The more the merrier. You told such funny stories from your travels, if anything you seemed to bring new life to the crew. A solo cyclist.. none of them could fathom such a thing.

A few more tears spill which you promptly wipe away, he could  tell you were growing increasingly embarrassed. 

“I’m healing up now.. I should probably try to work on my bik-”

In an instant, His lips are on yours, just lightly..as if testing the waters. You can feel his heartbeat hammering against his ribs..he was so nervous. But why?

You draw him close as you deepen the kiss

Abe:

Sweetness was not in the realm of Abe’s vocabulary, something seemed to switch over the day that he met you. Shivering, curled away at the furthest corner of the kennel--repulsed at the sound of his voice. He had nearly beaten his brother to a bloody pulp the moment he had the audacity to slap you. you were his. No harvest, no offerings. You were going to stay in that house with him. You were going to love him eventually.

 Abe left Luke stalking off to his room with a broken nose and quite a few bruises--at this point he didn’t really care. The hose was empty, Luke had gone off to take out his aggression, Cynthia left to collect some herbs. He could hear you scurrying around in the kennel and decided it was time for you to eat.

Taking his time to heat up a can of soup on the gas stove, Abe begins rummaging through the cabinets. In search of garlic powder, black pepper, anything that would make the meal in itself all the more rewarding. With a sigh, he carries the steaming bowl over to the kennel, only to find you huddled up at the farthest corner of the cage.

“Pookie!” He whistles, kicking at the kennel causing you to wince and cover your ears. So cute. He loosens a few buttons on his shirt before easing the steaming bowl into the cage.

“You need to eat darlin’“

You practically convulse, you had no idea when he slipped open the locks. You needed to escape but the warm savoury scent began to overwhelm you. Plain chicken sop the way your dad used to make. The scent was both comforting and completely nauseating. More tears begin to spill. Incoherent words as you try and convince him to let you go. Not good for the harvest. You weren’t a virgin. Yo had so many impurities in your system.

“I-’m just-- a waste of space.. please just let me go..”

You weren’t a waste of anything. You were his chance at a semblance or normality.

Abe found himself leaning in reaching for the lapel of your shirt. He presses his face to your neck inhaling your scent.

“You’re not a waste of nothin’ sweetheart. I’ll see if I can get you strong enough to run away from me.”

[cyborg-franky]

Super Server Summer Exchange

My dearest most beloved @duck-ee it was a joy to get you in the server exchange because you are a dear to me. I really hope you like this <3

Sanji x OC platonic Law TW: Children SFW Word Count: 1,445

“Everything packed?” Law asked as he leaned against the car, hands in his pockets as he watched his brother slam the back of the car, grinning and giving him a thumbs up.

“That was the last of it yes!” Duckie replied and blinked when he felt grabbing and tugging at his trousers.

Big curious eyes stared up at him as Sora tugged more, Duckie sighed and ruffled the blond hair before he picked her up, seeing those beautiful blue eyes of his daughter he brushed the hair from her face.

“I’m just going on a small trip with uncle Law, you gotta stay here and look after Daddy okay? Make sure he behaves himself and doesn’t get in any trouble. You can do that for me can’t you sweetheart?” Sora nodded shyly a smile reaching her lips as she was tasked with something big.

“Come on then princess.” Sanji hummed and took the child from his husband’s arms, kissing the side of her face before leaning over and kissing his husband goodbye.

“Have a good weekend love, call me if you need anything alright?”

“I’ll be fine, Law’s a doctor, remember.” Duckie nudged Sanji, a smile on his face as Sanji rolled his eyes.

Duckie got into the passenger’s side of the car as Law got into the driver’s seat, he grimaced a little when his brother adjusted the seat, his long legs feeling too boxed in the way Duckie had it set before. He didn’t always trust Law behind the wheel, knowing he tended to get a little annoyed at other drivers and thought he had more rights than he did.

But he didn’t like to backseat, he would just gently remind Law it was his car.

They pulled out the driveway, Duckie waving to his family while Law gave a simple nod in farewell. The open road was all theirs, pulling away from suburbia for a weekend of reconnecting and just being brothers.

Duckie turned the radio on, just high enough to hear, breaking up the silence as they travelled but not enough that they couldn’t hear one another talking. Law turned the corner, leaving a busy town road in favour of a long winding county road.

“I’m glad you managed to get the weekend off, it feels like forever since we got to hang out,” Duckie said as he pressed a button on the side, the window opening enough to let in a nice summer breeze, ruffling his hair and filling his soul with the freedom only a road trip could provide.

“They’ve owed my time off for months I just put my foot down.” He hummed and glanced to his side to watch his brother close his eyes and let the calming effect of the wind wash over him.

“I know you love your family but I bet it’ll be nice to have some time to hear yourself think huh?”

“Yeah, it’s nice to have a moment to live at a slower pace, I know Sanji had it handled, if not we have family and friends who are always ready to drop everything and lend a hand right?” Law nodded with a smile, he thought about their parents, and how they loved their grandchild.

--

The drive was smooth, relaxing, talking about small things such as their jobs, their lives, and what they’d missed in the weeks they’d last spoken. Law is always busy and Duckie with his hands full with work and family. Trying to find a balance was difficult sometimes, it’s why this road trip was so precious to both men.

“I bet you’re worried, aren’t you?” Law asked, catching Duckie looking down at his cell phone for the tenth time in a minute.

“I can’t help it, you know me, I worry, worry, worry.” He said and leaned back in his seat.

“Sanji will call you when he needs you, don’t worry.”

As the two brothers drove the world whizzed past them and changed colours as the day started to change from summer blues and yellows to afternoons oranges and purples. Soon the inky blanket of nightfall draped across the world. The car’s lights lit up each side of the road, the bushes looking like ghostly figures creeping around the car.

Law looked out the window, the large, towering trees and hedges had decorated as the field came into view. He could see the stars brighter than ever, a sight he had missed, the towns and cities never yielding to the beauty of nature’s natural lighting.

He saw a gate coming up to the side and he slowed down, Duckie quirking a brow at him as he got off the road, parking in front of the tatty old gate, the car stopping, the lights dimming before going out. Law slapped his hands on his legs and turned to face his brother.

“Remember when we used to look at the stars when we were kids? How Mother and Father would point them out to us? We’d be cuddled under that awful heart print blanket they took everywhere.”

“They still have that you know,” Duckie said with a laugh at Law’s grimace.

“It’s older than us.”

“You know they are both sentimental people Law.. so why have we stopped? Just feeling nostalgic?” he asked as Law opened the car door, gesturing for Duckie to join him.

Duckie stepped out, shutting his door and watching as Law leaned on the hood of the car, his arms folded over his chest as he stared at the night sky, the constellations all shone their brightest for the two brothers, waving in the form of far-off twinkles.

Law could see Duckie from the corner of his eye get comfy next to him, rolling down the sleeves of his shirt as the night air was a little chilly for him. He stared ahead, trying to catch the same view as Law. He could remember the nights that their parents would tell stories about the arrangement of stars, going into details about their less scientific tales of them.

He closed his eyes as he thought back to the two boys being in their mother’s arms, telling them about how sailors would chart the waters using the gems in the night sky. He smiled and opened them again, watching a star fall from the sky, tumbling and falling.

The wish he made was that his child would experience these joys. Sanji and him bringing her out this far one night, telling her stories that they’d been told. Pass down the tales so she could one day do the same. The thought started to make him emotional, and his brother could see.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just... thinking about when we were kids, what things meant to me, to us and how I can’t wait to share that with Sora and Sanji…”

Law nodded, he didn’t say anything which prompted Duckie to lean against him “You still don’t like Sanji?” he asked and tugged at the sleeve of his hoody.

“I like him fine, I’m just not a people person and I don’t do the romance or having a family thing.” He explained and ruffled Duckie’s hair.

“I didn’t use to like him, no, the person he used to be I honestly wanted to punch him in the face. I was worried every time I got a text from you or every time you and Sanji disagreed that he’d said something. We both know the man he used to be.” Law sighed and itched the hair on his chin, watching the sky.

“But you made him a better person Duckie, he needed you to help him see the person he was, and I can see how happy he makes you, for once I’m glad I was wrong about something, about someone.” Law felt arms around his waist hugging him tightly.

Even in the dark, he could tell Duckie was getting emotional, how tears welled up in his eyes at the sentimental things Law had let out. It was times like this Law was honest and open and they could talk.

“I’m glad you were wrong too.. and yes, he makes me very happy.” Duckie nodded and felt his brother ruffle his hair once more.

“Good, because I know people…” Law’s smile turned into a smirk until Duckie elbowed him in the side.

“Law…”

“Come on it was a joke.”

Duckie chuckled and once again turned his attention to the sky, watching the stars as he thought about his family. His wonderful relationship with his husband, his beautiful daughter, and his loving family. He was lucky, he didn’t need any falling stars to grant his wishes, they’d all already come true.

[guardianofrivendell]

Dwarves Always Knock Thrice

Requested: Yes and no. @estethell​ challenged me to write a modern AU with Fíli and Kíli knocking at the reader’s door instead of Bilbo’s by mistake. I interpreted it as a ‘what if Fíli and Kíli end up in modern day Europe?’

Warnings: none so far, I wrote this with a fem!reader (sorry! I try to write more gender neutral in the future, I promise)

Summary: What if one day your favorite fictional characters knock on your door? A modern AU with a twist! (any similarities to what I would do in this case are purely coincidental 😏)

A/N: Yes, yes, I know. There are hundreds of fics like this one. But none of them were written by me and my weird sense of humor 😆 Depending on the response I’ll turn this into a multichapter fic, if not this will stay a standalone oneshot. 

Humming a rather cheerful tune, you pressed the button on top of the coffee machine and your morning fuel started dripping into your favorite cup. You waited patiently until the foam reached the edge and then you turned the machine off. With the cup held between your hands, you inhaled deeply. Nothing like the smell of fresh coffee for a perfect start of the day.

A few minutes ago your boyfriend had left to go to work, only to see him again by the end of next week. He was going on a citytrip with your group of friends for a few days, which had been planned ages ago.  You were supposed to go with them, but unfortunately, you didn’t have any vacation days left. No, it was back to work for you instead. 

Not that you minded. You loved your job, and you were lucky enough to be able to work from home when you wanted to. It didn’t actually feel like work that way. At least you had decent coffee, you didn’t have to dress up and you could take a break whenever you wanted.  And now with your boyfriend gone for the week, you had no interruptions and lots of quiet evenings to look forward to. Cheers to that, you thought while you sipped at your coffee. 

The dinner table became your makeshift workplace, coffee within reach. There were no video meetings scheduled today so you were wearing your favorite pair of black leggings and a long oversized knitted sweater, with fluffy socks on your feet to complete your comfy outfit. 

You moved your computer mouse and your laptop sprung to life.  James, your Sphynx cat, hopped on the table and pushed his head in your hand, demanding cuddles.

“Another day at the office, how dreadful,” you smiled, petting him behind his ear. James purred and started to bathe himself. 

He was a Sphynx cat, so there was no fur. Nothing but flawless pink skin, soft to the touch. It almost felt like petting a warm peach. You chuckled at the comparison, and James stopped his grooming to look at you. 

“Oh, I’m sorry your Majesty. I’ll let you to it.” 

You booped his nose and got to work. 

After a day of sifting through emails, processing data and editing documents and spreadsheets, you felt utterly exhausted. A phrase your boyfriend likes to throw at you on these moments suddenly came to mind, ‘How can you be so tired when you’ve done nothing but sit down on your ass all day?’ Always the charmer.

You stood up, raised your arms above your head and stretched, groaning in the process. You froze when your stretch session was interrupted by three knocks on your front door. 

“Who still knocks these days?”

It was almost 6 pm, slowly turning dark outside and you’d let the shutters down about an hour ago. It was something you did as soon as the sun was setting. It was silly really, but it made you feel safe. 

But now it prevented you from seeing who was at your door.

The neighbours from down the street wouldn’t come by for a visit, they were the kind of people that liked to keep to themselves. Your parents would call first, so… a polite burglar perhaps?

You couldn’t be too careful these days, especially now, when you were alone, so you went to your intercom first to see who was at the door. 

The camera didn’t show anyone. You could see a part of your front yard, but that was it. Strange… You thought you could hear voices, so maybe there was someone at the door after all. Maybe someone had driven their car into the ditch. Wouldn’t be the first time. You lived in the countryside, with roads where only one car at a time could pass, with ditches on both sides. A challenge for city people, and the occasional daredevil usually had to be towed out of said ditch. 

What’s life without a little risk, you thought, and made your way to the front door. You weren’t the one to turn away from people in need. It would probably get yourself killed one day, you were too kind and gullible and people tended to take advantage of that. 

Another three knocks sounded, a little louder this time and you swung the door open. 

“Finally!”

Your boyfriend rushed inside and shot up the stairs. When you looked to your driveway, you saw his car with the lights on, the motor still running. He was running late again. As usual. 

After a few minutes he thundered down the stairs, his hiking boots in hand. 

“Almost forgot these,” he said while lifting them. He kissed your cheek and ran off.  You sighed. “See you next week, sweet. I’ll miss you.” 

Sarcasm was your way to cope, to learn how to deal with the lack of love and care. Because who were you kidding? He wouldn't miss you. 

You shuffled to your kitchen, in need of something hot. To drink, that is. And while the coffee machine filled your cup for the second time that day, you rubbed your face with your hands trying to think of how you had ended up in this situation in the first place… 

“Just try and enjoy a week by yourself,” you whispered. 

You were about to take a first sip when three knocks sounded for the third time.

“Seriously?”

When you opened the door, you couldn’t stop the massive eyeroll when you saw it was your boyfriend again. 

“Hand me the reservation papers of the hotel, will you? I forgot them and I need the address for the gps,” he said. 

“I sent it in an email to Tom, and I put the address in the gps system yesterday. Now go, you’re late enough as it is. Call me when you get there okay?”

He smiled and kissed your cheek again. 

“Bye! Enjoy your week by yourself!” “I will, don’t worry,” you smiled. 

Before you closed the door there was a bright white flash. You covered your ears on instinct, something you always did when there was a thunderstorm. 

“That was very closeby,” your boyfriend gasped. “They didn’t say anything about a thunderstorm tonight.” “I’m not sure that was lightning… there was no thunder?” “It’s probably nothing to worry about.”

And with those words your boyfriend left for the second time that night. 

After closing the front door with a small heart, you tried to calm yourself.  You were terrified of thunderstorms, and you really didn’t feel like going through one when you were on your own. Let’s just hope he was right and it was nothing, you thought. 

Your coffee…! Taking a sip from the now lukewarm drink, you pondered if you would make it into an Irish or Italian one. Heaven knows you deserved it, right?  With your coffee still in hand you made your way over to the liquor cabinet, only to be interrupted by yet another pair of knocks on the front door.

“I’m going to kill him,” you murmured while you walked into the hallway. “What could he have possibly forgotten this time?”

You swung the door open with a little too much force, but you couldn’t care less by that time. The small amount of patience you had left was already out of the window and you just wanted to enjoy your spiked coffee. 

“What did you forg-?!”

Your voice got caught in your throat when your eyes fell on your visitors. Visitors. As in plural. Definitely not your boyfriend.  You recognized them immediately, there was no doubt who they were but… it couldn’t be! This was simply impossible!

In your shock you forgot you were holding your cup of coffee and it slipped out of your hand. The cup completely shattered on the floor but you hardly noticed. 

Because right in front of you, in the light of your porch light at your very own doorstep, stood Fíli and Kíli. 

As in Fíli and Kíli, nephews to Thorin, King under the Mountain. As in Fíli and Kíli, characters from The Hobbit. Fictional characters. With a heavy emphasis on ‘fictional’. Made up by Tolkien. 

So how the hell was it possible that they were standing in front of you, alive and well?

The two Durin brothers were a bit taken aback so it seemed, because they too remained silent at first. After a few awkward seconds Kíli was the one who decided to speak up instead of his older brother. He was clutching his sword and quiver, just like he did in the movie. 

“Kíli,” he began. He was side eyeing his brother who was still staring at you, and smacked Fíli’s chest when he didn’t respond.  “What?”  “Kíli,” Kíli repeated, pointing at himself and then at his brother who finally caught on. “And Fíli.” “At your service,” they both continued, bowing deeply.

“Y/N, at yours,” you responded without a second thought.  Kíli’s face split into a wide smile.

“We’re looking for master Boggins!” “Yeah, I kind of expected you to say that,” you murmured, but they heard you. “Oh, so you’re a seer?” Kíli assumed excitedly. “No! No, I’m just… me. But there is no mister Baggins here,” you said, correcting Kíli. “Are we at the wrong house?” Fíli wondered.   “I’m afraid so.” “Well… can you help us find him?” Kíli looked at you expectantly.

You sighed. “I would but, I’m afraid it’s a little more complicated than that.”

Both of their faces fell. They were so in character, if someone was pranking you, they did one hell of a job in finding these two actors. And their costumes were spot on, from the carvings on Kíli’s bow to the colour of Fíli’s fur coat. It was scaringly accurate… They looked so much like Dean and Aidan’s version, but not quite. You didn’t know why exactly, but you had the feeling they were real. They were Fíli and Kíli, sons of Dís. 

Fíli stared at you with a confused expression. “What do you mean, my lady?”

Oh. Now, if you weren’t already a little enamored by their looks, the title he just gave you would have. You weren’t exactly used to endearments. 

Not that Fíli had meant as an endearment but you wouldn’t mind if they called you my lady for the rest of your life. It just made you grow a couple of inches. 

“I’m probably going to regret this, but… come in.”  You stepped aside so they could enter the hallway. 

The heavy boots they were wearing made scratching sounds on your tile floor and your mind immediately went to your delicate wooden floors in the rest of your house. 

You were going to sound extremely bossy and uptight but you had to think of your interior. 

“Could you both maybe take off your boots?”

The two brothers looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. 

“If you want?” Fíli asked you. 

“Please.”

You took the swords and quiver from Kíli so he had his hands free and placed them in a corner of your hallway. Fíli followed your example and added his own weapons to the pile. 

“I trust you not to attack us when we’re unarmed,” he winked at you. 

You smiled back at him, knowing all too well he still had some smaller knives hidden somewhere.  For a moment the thought of reenacting the knife scene in Mirkwood crossed your mind, but you thought better of it. He wouldn’t find it as funny as you thought it was and you’d probably lose a finger or two if you tried to take a knife from him. It was best not to challenge him. Yet. 

Once their boots were placed neatly next to their weapons, you motioned them to follow you into your living room. Your eyes drifted to the shards of your coffee mug and the spilled coffee, you needed to clean it up but it simply had to wait.

“I don’t really know how to begin explaining all this,” you said, while waving your arms around you, “but it might be a good idea if we sit down?”

You gestured towards the sitting area and both brothers took a seat on your couch.

It seemed like they didn’t know where to look first.  Their eyes wandered to your tv, surround system, laptop, aquarium, … 

Kíli whispered something in Fíli’s ear, to which the older brother shrugged his shoulders.

“Do you want to drink anything?” you suggested. “I have water, milk, beer, …”

Their eyes lit up when you mentioned the beer, so you nodded your head. 

“Beer it is, although I need to warn you. It’s Belgian beer, so it’s probably a lot stronger than what you guys are used to.”

You mentally facepalmed at your last sentence, why did you even mention that? They didn’t realize they were in a different universe, so mentioning your country would give them zero information. 

“I think we can handle it just fine,” Kíli commented with a smirk. Fíli nodded in agreement.  “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

After another look at the dwarves on your couch, you disappeared into your kitchen. You fetched two beer glasses out of the dishwasher and two bottles of beer from your fridge, before you noticed how much your hands were shaking.

Okay, Y/N, you need to calm down first… Easy to say when you have two dwarves sitting in your living room. Dwarves! And your favorite dwarves too.  How many times had you imagined this exact moment in your fantasies? In your dreams? 

Of course! That was it…!  You probably fell asleep at your laptop and you were dreaming.  But then why did it feel so real?

Maybe someone was pranking you after all? Nah, that wasn’t likely. Nobody knew you were even in the Tolkien fandom. Let alone who your favorite characters were. 

So it must be a dream... But if you were dreaming, they definitely would have been an exact copy of the movie Fíli and Kíli. As in, Dean and Aidan in costumes. The ones sitting on your couch looked slightly different, still handsome - Mahal, did they look handsome - but you would probably refer to them as discount Dean and Aidan. 

Your small mental breakdown was interrupted when Kili started to scream. 

“What is that?!”

Quickly snatching the bottles and glasses in both of your hands, you hurried back to the Durin princes. 

When you entered your living room, you were met with quite the hilarious view. Tolkien had described Fíli and Kíli as fearless and courageous, but there was nothing courageous about their behaviour right now.Fíli was sitting with his legs pulled up and Kili half on Fili’s back, pointing at James who was trying to jump on Fili’s lap. 

“That’s James, my cat.”

“That’s a cat?!” Kíli yelled. “What did you do to him?”

“Nothing!” you laughed, placing the glasses and bottles on the coffee table. “He’s a sphynx cat, he’s supposed to look like that. They don’t have fur.”

You called James and he immediately ran to you, so you could pick him up. He rubbed his head against your chin and started purring, happy to get some attention. 

You crouched down before the two princes.

“Go ahead, pet him. You don’t have to be scared.” “We’re not scared,” Kíli protested, puffing out his chest.  You smirked and rolled your eyes. “Of course not.”

They were wary at first, but eventually both brothers were petting James. Before you could stop him, James jumped out of your arms on Fíli’s lap and curled up against the fur of his coat. 

Fíli froze and tried his best not to let it show that he wasn’t comfortable with this at all. Next to him, Kíli had the hardest time keeping a straight face, biting his lip in an attempt to stifle his chuckles but his shoulders were already shaking with laughter. 

You poured their beer and placed it in front of them. 

“Like I said, it’s pretty strong so small sips. Do you want me to take James away?” Fíli shook his head. “I-it’s fine!”

You took a seat on your other couch and anxiously started to rub your thighs. 

“So… like I said, I don’t really know how to explain this but I think I know what happened to you.” “Wait… did something happen to us? I don’t understand?” Kíli asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion.

Oh, right. They didn’t realise they were in a different universe right now. Maybe you should take a different approach. 

“Can you tell me what happened before you knocked on my door?”

Kíli took the two glasses and gave one to his brother before he took a gulp, humming appreciatively. 

“I like this,” he said. “And to answer your question, we traveled to the Shire and knocked on the door with the mark. And here we are!” “But… my door doesn’t have a mark?”

It was Fíli’s turn to roll his eyes. “Kee, you’re not telling the whole story. But you’re right about this,” he smiled while raising his glass, taking another sip. “This is good stuff.”

You chuckled when you saw some foam sticking to his mustache.  He raised an eyebrow at you. “What’s so funny?”

“I have enough beer in the fridge, you don’t have to save some for later,” you laughed, pointing at your own lip to get the message across. 

Fíli quickly wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve. The movement made James shift in his lap and the Dwarf went rigid again.  You decided not to say anything about it, you figured maybe Fili didn’t like cats that much. Or just James. 

“So what did Kíli leave out?” “Your door wasn’t the first one we knocked on. There was a round, green door in the Shire. And that one had the mark of Gandalf. He’s a wizard.”

You nodded. So far it went exactly like it should. Shire, green door, mark. 

“But when we knocked on it, we found ourselves in a field all of a sudden. And your house was the only one around so we figured that was where we were supposed to be. Since Gandalf is a wizard, you never know what to expect.”

Okay, that was different. It almost sounded as if they went through a portal of some sort. Like a portkey? They touched the portkey and traveled to a different universe? But portkeys weren’t part of Middle Earth, that was Harry Potter. Did they have something similar?

“You’re not in Middle Earth anymore,” you said softly. 

Both brothers stared at you with wide eyes, their beer long forgotten. Kíli looked at his older brother, and pulled at his sleeve.

“What does she mean by that?”

Fíli kept his eyes fixed on your face, searching your features to see if you were lying. If you were trying to prank them. 

“It means that you traveled between different worlds. In my world, where you’re in right now, Middle Earth is fictional. A story. It doesn't exist. Just like my world doesn’t exist where you’re from.” “I don’t believe you,” Kíli said with a frown. 

You had expected this. It’s not like you would’ve believed them if you were in their place. 

“Look around,” you tried to explain, “you can see things you recognize. The furniture, me being a human, … But you can also see things that you don’t understand. They are from this world.”

“You said Middle Earth was a story to you?” Fíli asked you.  “Yes. There are tales about Middle Earth, and Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits, the race of Men, … Orcs, wargs, goblins,” you explained, careful not to mention anything about their storyline or the one with the One Ring. “But I’ve never thought it could be real.”

They stayed silent for a few moments, letting it all sink in. 

“How… How do we get back to Middle Earth?” Fili wondered.  “I’m sorry, I really don’t know. But I’m going to help you find your way back. We’ll figure something out.” 

You played with your fingers, a telltale sign you were nervous.

“And in the meantime you can stay here... With me.”

A/N: There you go... This is the setup for a possible new multichapter fic if people are interested in it.   Just think of the two brothers in a modern day kitchen and bathroom, how the reader tries to cope with her fictional crush in her home and... how will they get back to Middle Earth? Would you be interested to read that? Let me know!  And of course let me know what you thought of this story :) 

A/N part 2: Sometimes tumblr switches paragraphs for no reason at all, if you notice this happened, send me a message! I’ll try and keep an eye on it myself, but some help is always appreciated.

Permanent taglist: @roosliefje​ @kata1803​ @artsywaterlily​ @entishramblings​ @sleepy-daydream-in-a-rose​ @marvelschriss​ @kumqu4t​ @myrin1234​ @dark-angel-is-back​ @the-fandoms-georgie​ @lathalea​ @xxbyimm​ @sokkasdarling​ @katethewriter​ @aredhel-of-gondolin​ @leethology​ @thepeanutcollective @elvish-sky​

Kíli taglist: @elles-writing​ @sxperncturalimpala67​

[parkers-gal]

Omg just wanted to say I love your writing sm bub 🥺 and you are coming up with so much great stuff so quickly omg- I just had a request for a rainy late night drive back from a dinner with tom; maybe angst and then fluff of sorts? And the reader gets tired and he swaps seats to drive. Idk just driving fluff? And thank you so much, for all the stuff you’ve been posting recently too ☺️💗

i loved this request :) thank you<3

requests are open

wc: 1.1k

—

A long and exhausting week required much due relaxation. It required celebrating, for making it through probably one of the busiest weeks of the year. Tom had asked if you wanted to eat out, and you suggested a few favorite restaurants before the two of you decided on a fancy Italian restaurant a few miles away. 

It was raining when you left home, rain pittering and pattering on the pavement, overcrowding grooves in the ground as puddles formed and sewers filled. Streams of water ran down the crevices of the road, water slick on the wheels of Tom’s freshly cleaned car.

You were driving; it was ritual. Tom didn’t like driving in the rain, which was surprising considering he’d grown up in London, the world’s most popular city known for rain. He said it made him nervous, and though he was always one to take his own advice and turn nerves into excitement, he just felt better altogether if someone else was at the wheel. It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it or that he didn’t trust himself, but he feared the possibilities. He tried not to think too much about one thing. 

The restaurant was classy and warm, hot puffs of air escaping into the cold atmosphere of the night. A single security guard in a black suit stood outside of the door under a large, connected canopy. There were dim lights around the front entrance, and you offered him a smile. He remained unmoved only to open the door. Tom nodded to him, a seemingly universal code for men. 

You stepped inside carefully, rubbing your shoes on the mat as you did so. Tom did the same, hand going to the small of your back and guiding you in the direction of the worker in charge of reservations. Tom slipped him a twenty after he’d seated the two of you. 

The two of you were regulars here, coming every couple of months. They’d grown accustomed to serving the two of you, working for you as if the two of you ran a mafia. It flattered and excited you, feeling like a queen. 

Tom was holding your hand as he looked through the menu; you weren’t sure why he was looking at all. You both tended to order the same things. When it came down to it, it was comfort food. After your favorite waiter took your orders, you sat silently with Tom, sipping white wine. He was halfway done with a beer, but he’d told you he was going lighter today, not wanting to go home tipsy. 

You talked about nothing in particular, mentioning a few changes that were made in the restaurant from the time you were last there to now. Tom smiled when you started fiddling with the jewelry on your left hand. It was an original Tiffany & Co. piece, a sparkling 1.27 carats. You cried when you first saw it. You’d wanted it since you were young, so you recognized it off the bat. 

It had been just over a month since he proposed, and now you were finishing up dessert. It was a compliment from the chef; he’d just recently heard about your engagement. It was his famous — and your favorite — Tiramisu. You’d first introduced the dish to Tom on your third date. He’d never even heard the name before you came into his life, and the two of you vowed to go to the gym every week if you wanted to eat it whenever you were together, which, granted, was practically every hour of the day. 

Two and half hours had passed since you first arrived with Tom. They’d given you more food to take home, and you promised to send them invites to the ceremony, also asking for their catering card and information. The manager had smiled when you asked, giving you both warm hugs as you went to receive your coats from the racks they were put on when you first entered.

Julia, the woman in charge of coats, smiled sending you a wave as she returned your coats. Tom slipped his grey blazer on before helping you with your trench coat, slipping your arms in as his hand returned to the small of you back. You both waved as you walked out, and Levi the security guard handed you your umbrella as you left.

You were exhausted by the time the car was pulled up. Tom tipped a twenty to the valet. You were standing under the umbrella with Tom, ready to take the keys from Michael the driver, but Tom’s lanky fingers reached out first, waving and nodding to Mike as he opened the passenger door for you. 

Your shoulders sagged as you jutted a lip out. 

“Thank you, Tommy.”

He smiled softly, kissing your cheek. “Of course, love.”

After situating himself in the driver’s seat, he adjusted his dress pants before starting the drive home. You nearly passed out the minute he’d gotten on the freeway; the rain consumed you, relaxed and comforted you, filling your ears and nose as you drifted off into the world of R.E.M. 

Tom smiled at the sight of you, one hand on the wheel and another on your thigh. You’d ended up using Tom’s jacket as a blanket, wrapping it around you, holding onto it as if it were him. He glanced at the shining diamond, perfectly situated on your ring finger. He grinned wider, eyes focusing on the road ahead of him. 

By the time Tom pulled into the driveway, it was quarter to eleven. You were still asleep despite Tom stepping out of the car. He decided not to wake you, so he unbuckled your seatbelt and carried you out of the Audi, locking the vehicle before opening the front door, closing it gently so as not to disturb you too much. 

Brushing your teeth and removing your makeup was a hazy memory, and when you finally slipped under the covers, wrapping around Tom, your mind was in a state of bliss, and you knew you wanted to do this forever. 

Tom smiled as you slept on his chest. He pulled you closer. He loved the feeling of you sleeping in his arms, dreaming as your body relaxed, stayed peaceful. He felt like a protector, like your protector. He didn’t need a wedding to prove that he’d continue protecting you until his own death, and he didn’t need a wedding to prove how much he loved you. 

He kissed the top of your head and you sighed blissfully into the crook of his neck. Goosebumps arose as you sleepily kissed his soft, smooth skin. He held you tighter. He’d drive in the rain for you, for the rest of his days.