#think today is the last day i need to finish unpacking but we shall see

[aetherology]

when your queue runs out because you've been MOVING & you don't even notice

[the-fiction-witch]

Let's Play P2

Media - The Maze Runner Series AU Characters - Newt Couples - Newt X Reader Rating - 18 + death / Saw movie Word Count - 2787

As I made my way to the car, I reached for the last bag of groceries. Carrying it inside, I was greeted by the familiar scene of toys, skirts, and glitter scattered everywhere in the house. As I set my heavy bags down on the spacious granite kitchen island, I took a deep breath and embarked on the familiar routine of unpacking the groceries.

"Ooh that you sweetie?" Newt called from the living room couch where he sat feeding little baby Penny,

"Yep, and I brought chocolate mini rolls," I answered,

"My god do I love you," he chuckled, "Penny, shall we go see mummy, shall we? yeah." He cooed as he took her bottle away and slowly pushed up coming to the kitchen with a bit of a wobble where the joins of his prosthetic needed adjusting again, "Hi," He smiled as we shared a soft kiss,

"Hi," I smiled back, "how's our littlest lady?"

"Little and lovely," he chuckled rubbing her nose on his,

"Good, how are the other two?"

"Lilly's bus should be here any minute, I picked up Alice from school earlier and she is in bed resting up with her tummy ache."

"Good, I'll take her up some soup in a bit," As I gently cradled little Penny in my arms, I couldn't help but shower her with soft kisses on her sweet blonde head. At that moment, the door suddenly opened, and Lilly rushed in, as she always did, throwing her bag carelessly on the stairs. Without hesitation, she made a beeline for Newt and embraced him tightly.

"Whoa, hello there. How was school?" he asked,

"Bad."

"Oh, why bad?"

"My tummy hurts," she whines,

"Ohhh, I had to pick your little sister up from school at lunch cause she wasn't feeling well,"

"Why didn't you go to the nurse Lilly?" I asked,

"I thought I would be okay till I got home,"

"Okay, well have a glass of water and go lay in bed, I'll bring you and Alice up some soup okay?"

After nodding in agreement, she gave Newt and me each a warm hug before she headed upstairs. I finished putting away the groceries and let the soup simmer on the stove, releasing its savoury aroma into the air. I then joined Newt on the sofa, where he gently rocked baby Penny in her bassinet, soothing her with a sweet lullaby.

"You think it's those fish fingers from last night?" He asked,

"Maybe, but then we'd be sick," I shrug,

"True," He nodded, "... the bread for their sandwiches maybe? we did get it reduced."

"No, I had it today I feel fine," I shrug, "Plus you picked Alice but before she ate her lunch,"

"Good point," He agreed, "Maybe there's just something going around, you've been to that school place is always sticky,"

"I know," I sighed leaning my head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around me, "I just worry is all,"

"Of course you're worried, you think I'm not worried about our little angels?" he chuckled, "Anything serious first call to the doctor okay?"

"Okay," I nodded giving him a small kiss,

"Good, now let's pop the telly on while dinner cooks and maybe we can have a little cuddle up in bed tonight?" he asked with a sly hopeful look in his eyes,

"Newt..." I rasied an eyebrow playfully,

He pouted, "Please."

"I'll think about it."

"Yes!" He celebrated,

He grabbed the remote and began to flip through channels as usual we didn't find much so just put the news on while we relaxed,

'Today marks the ten-year anniversary of the apprehension of the notorious serial killer Austin Ledwik, widely known as 'The Game Master.' Ledwik was responsible for orchestrating a series of horrifying and elaborate events in which unsuspecting individuals were abducted and trapped in intricately designed murder scenarios, forced to compete for their lives. Throughout his criminal career, Ledwik hosted a total of sixteen of these deadly games, resulting in a devastating death toll of over one hundred victims. His final grim spectacle, themed around Valentine's Day and dubbed the "Love Games," culminated in an unexpected victory by one of the contestants, ultimately leading to Ledwik's capture by law enforcement before he could escape-"

Newt quickly turned the TV off,

"Thank you," I smiled,

"You're welcome, not exactly something either of us need reminding," He sighed,

"Come on dinner time,"

"Umm your delicious feel-better soup, I shall take a whole bucket if you please," He cooed,

"No buckets only a bowl available today,"

"Ohh well, I suppose it'll do," After exchanging a tender kiss, I made my way to the kitchen to prepare a meal. Gathering four bowls, I carefully portioned out servings for each of the girls, as well as for Newt and myself. Abruptly, without any warning, a deafening, echoing BANG shattered the quiet, and everything around me plunged into darkness.

When I regained consciousness, I felt a shiver course through my body. As I slowly opened my eyes, I found myself sprawled on the floor of what seemed to be the dimly lit, cobweb-filled attic of an old farmhouse. To my surprise, I was surrounded by a diverse group of individuals - a young girl in a dishevelled pink dress with bright blonde hair and smudged makeup, an older man wrapped in a bulky coat, a woman sporting a long ponytail and dressed in workout clothes, and a muscular man donning a police uniform. Newt lay next to me unconscious still, and an unsettling sensation gnawed at my gut.

"Not again..." I gasped, "Newt... Newt wake up!" I begged,

"Umm?" He groaned, "Ohh bloody hell my head-" He complained before his eyes cleared, "Where the fuck are we..." He asked his tone strangely calm but deeply serious,

Slowly others began to wake we all had the same questions,

"What is this place..." The older man asked,

"AHhhhhhh I'm like so Claustrophobic! Let me out!" The blonde woman whined,

"How did we get here? Mike, what's going on?" The other woman asked the officer,

"I don't know Grace." he told her, "Who are you to?"

"Y/n and Isaac Newton," I answered,

"And you?"

"Uhh Franklin James." The older man nodded,

"Mercedes Prance," The blonde girl whined,

"Okay... okay, Officer Grace Wilson." The woman nodded,

"And Officer Mike Smith. Everyone just remains calm." Mike answered, "Anyone any idea how we got here?"

Everyone shook their heads,

"It's gonna be that game freak!" Mercedes screamed,

"That was ten years ago you dumbass!" Franklin glared at her,

"It can't be Austin Ledwik, The Guy hung himself after two weeks in prison. I know I checked the body myself." Grace explained,

"Copycat?" Mike asked,

"Well, Well, Welcome Everyone!" A voice cooed,

A TV in the corner of the room showing a very joyful man with bright blue hair,

"I know we all love a little drama but I think it's time for a little exposition!" He chuckled, "Let me introduce myself, I am 'The On Air Assassin.'" He smirked swirling on his chair,

"I think so," Grace nodded,

"Now, this is a little anniversary show to celebrate ten years of my beloved inspiration 'The Game Master' he taught me so much, and I miss him every day, to today we celebrate his legacy. In a Game, I'm calling... Revenge Six ways." He laughed,

"No... no no no." I gasped already tears flooding down my face,

Newt wrapped his arms around me even if he too was shaking,

"And what better contestants to have, Than these." He smirked, "Presenting. Officers Grace Wilson and Mike Smith! The very Officer who arrested Austin Ledwik. Franklin James! The Judge who sentenced Austin to his life sentence and his death. Mercedes Prance! The Sweet little stepdaughter who ratted Austin out during his trial. And Finally... Isaac and Y/n Newton! His last Contestants, his only survivors and the reason he was arrested."

I couldn't hold back my tears, clutching Newt tightly so afraid of what this man was going to do to us,

"Shut up her crying I can't hear him!" Franklin yelled,

"Fuck you!" Newt yelled, "You don't know... none of you went through what we did... so shut the fuck up! and let my wife cry!"

"Now, now plenty of time for that," he smirked, "There are three floors, make it through all three and you'll be allowed to leave and you'll even get a prize." He smirked, "Let's show off what you're playing for,"

The camera moved inside this dark grey room, showing an older woman in a long grey dress,

"Martha!" Franklin yelled, "My wife! Bastard has my wife!"

The camera moved again to another area where a small dog sat,

"Tiddles!" Mercedes yelled,

"Who gives a shit about your dog he has my wife!" Franklin yelled,

The camera moved again showing an officer struggling against the restraints,

"Sargent Jacobs..." Grace gasped,

"Shit-" Mike complained running a hand through his hair,

"And our final grand prize, da, da, da, da!"

The camera moved and there they were...

I crawled desperately to the screen,

"No... no no no no! MY BABIES NOOOOO!" I screamed, "Lilly! Alice! Penny!" I cried out, "Please! Don't hurt our girls! PLEASE!"

"Y/n take a breath," Grace tried to console me,

"No... no. Please give them back!" I screamed,

"They will not be harmed, and if you survive they will be returned to you." The man explained, "There is a key somewhere in this room that shall unlock the next. Let the games Begin!"

Grace and Mike dragged me away as the screen turned off,

I cried in hysterics until I saw Newt.

And my blood ran colder than I had ever known it to.

He sat there, his only motion his sharp jagged breaths that caused his shoulders to move, his eyes on the screen squarely, and they darkened. In a way I had never seen, In fifteen years of marriage I had never seen him like this. There was a rage inside him, a rage that no man, or god could stop.

"He... has... my... daughters..." His voice was cold, calm, and full of brimming rage,

"Mr Newton just try to-" Mike tried to calm him,

"HE HAS MY DAUGHTERS!" He screamed his tone animalistic, and then he began to laugh, an intense maddening laughter that filled the room, "Ohh you made two mistakes there, Mr on Air Assassin. You took my daughters. our little girls. And you showed your face... Now we both know... there's not a single chance of you getting out of here alive."

Newt got to his feet and marched to the door.

"He said there was a key to open the door!" Mercedes yelled,

But before anyone could even start looking Newt shoulder thrusted the door and it immediately busted open leading to a stairwell,

"Fuck Keys. I make my own doors." Newt glared at her,

Newt grabbed my hand and we shared a look of understanding, the same one we had shared ten years ago, we both knew we were ready to do anything, and matching him my sadness turned to rage.

We marched down those stairs like we were on military orders, we arrived at a room with a large old pizza oven,

"Revenge is a dish best served Hot some say, now let's see how much heat you can take?" The man smirked,

We didn't even say a word to each other, we searched the room and each spotted something. Newt grabbed a rusty metal pipe and I grabbed an old wooden board.

The others slowly followed but Franklin and Mercedes sheepishly stayed at the back,

Mike and Grace were completely with us, letting us go fueled by rage.

No one even checked the fire or the rules,

Mike kicked down the door and he and Grace headed out into the hallway filled with various doors, they moved through each door kicking them down and checking them,

"Clear." Grace nodded as she kicked down the last door and turned to the stairs,

Newt and I marched down the stairs and found a room with a set of keys inside a block of ice,

"Now... we uhh... we have this test where uhh ... where revenge is a dish best served cold." The man explained,

"You fucking hack!" I yelled, "At least Game Master had ideas beyond Google."

Newt went up and grabbed the ice slamming it down on the floor which broke it open,

"Keys. Get them out." He handed them to Mike,

Mike immediately went and opened the door to set them free from the house, Franklin and Mercedes ran out desperate for their freedom, Grace bolted out to the nearby road where a payphone sat to call for help,

"There's another door," I said as I saw the door leading to the basement,

"Let's get out girls." Newt nodded, breaking the door open with his pipe,

We ran down and immediately saw him.

The man from the Screen, as he desperately fumbled for a gun, holding Lilly in his arm as he cried,

"Stay the fuck away from me!" He yelled, "It wasn't meant to go like this... you were supposed to die!"

"Plans change." Newt growled, "Let her go. And I might let you live."

"How about I shoot her? I shoot all of them! I wanted death, I wanted my show but you had to go and ruin it."

"You took our daughters... did you think we would lay down and die?" I asked,

"Back away," Mike demanded as he followed us down,

"No. This is us. get the others out." Newt told him,

Mike nodded and worked to get the other hostages out,

Newt walked his pipe dragging along the floor as he walked closer without a single fear in his eyes, "Let. Her. Go. Now." He demanded,

"Or what!"

"You are nothing but a shitting imitation. A copycat. Austin was a bastard and I will curse him as he rots in the deepest pit of hell for all he did to me. My wife. And the people we used to call our friends... all of which died at his hands. You are nothing compared to him... Not even worth the foolish games you tried to make. So I will ask you again. Let her go."

"I am not an imiatation!" He screamed,

I heard the gunfire and I screamed, I grabbed Lilly by the arm and pulled her from him checking her over and finding she was okay.

"Ohh my darling," I cooed holding her close,

"Lilly's okay?" Newt asked so I nodded,

"Upstairs now," Mike called as he helped carry Penny,

"Take them," I told him leading Lilly with him as they went upstairs,

"Wha... what the fuck- how did you?" The man asked his gun shaking in his hand, he had shot Newt's leg. His Prosthetic leg.

"That's the mark your predecessor left. And you didn't even have the balls to do what he did." Newt answered, "I hope there is a hell. I really do. Becuase I'm sending you to talk with the man you adore so much. And one day... After I have lived a life with my gorgeous wife, my beautiful children, maybe even some adorable grandkids." he explained as he tossed the gun from his hands and backed him into a corner, "I'm coming for you. Both of you. And trust me You. Will. Pay." He said before hitting him with the pipe hard and fast,

Newt hit, over and over and over until nothing of the man remained by a bloody mess,

Once he slowed I wrapped my arms around him and calmed him down,

"It's okay. It's okay. It's over. It's over." I cooed,

"Let's get out of here," he nodded dropping the pipe as we headed up to meet with the others,

Newt and I sat on the grass holding our girls as tight as we could, When Mike came over sitting beside us,

"You know what happened in there?" Newt asked,

"I do." Mike nodded,

"Am I being arrested?"

"... You saved their lives. All of them." Mike nodded, "He shot himself when he saw his plans went badly."

Newt and I nodded,

So Mike patted Newt's shoulder and returned to Grace,

"You did a good thing Newt," I told him laying my head on his shoulder,

"I don't care." he shook his head, "I'd have killed all of them if I had to. For you girls. You are my world. My Everything. You. Lilly. Alice. Penny. I- I would rather die than be without you. And I mean what I said, there is no man or god that will ever take you girls from me." He said as he gave a kiss to each of our heads, "I love you, Y/n, with all my heart."

"I love you too Newt." I cooed,

"And I love you girls." He smiled,

"We love you too Daddy," Alice and Lilly both smiled giving him a big hug,

"Da-Dada..." Penny giggled,

And all of us gasped,

"Her- her first word."

"Dada." she giggled as Newt took her in his arms,

"Aww my littlest angel," He cooed,

Just as the Police pulled up to the house,

"Come on, let's get you girls safe."

[myhockeyworld87]

What Happens In Vegas...Doesn’t Always Stay There - Jacob Markstrom - Part 5

Word Count: 6,353

POV: Reader

Warning: Language, Smut, NSFW, Pregnancy stuff

Notes: Sorry I meant to post this last night, but that game left me barely able to function. As such, you are getting this today. This fic takes place during the 2018-2019 season and during that season Jacob’s dad was still with him, so I will be mentioning him in this and the next chapter, along with his cancer. If that bothers you, please skip this and the next chapter. I just felt that it needed to be written into the story. As always feedback is welcome. Happy Reading!

What Happens In Vegas…Doesn’t Always Stay There Masterlist

It took three weeks back in LA to get everything taken care of before the move to Vancouver. Work thankfully wasn't a problem. With more and more movies and television shows being filmed in Canada, the firm liked the idea of having someone closer. Most of your work could be done remotely anyhow and you could just video chat conference calls or anything else you needed. It ended up being a win for everyone.

 By the time you could actually move in, Jacob was on the tail end of a ten-day road trip. He'd insisted on hiring you a moving company, even though you said you could handle it, not that he thought you couldn't; he just felt you didn't need the added stress. Though packing wasn't the stressful part. It was the unpacking and not knowing where to put things with Jacob not being there that was causing your anxiety to rise. You felt like you were invading his home. Most of your furniture you kept in storage, but you still had a few things you wanted to take with you, yet you didn't know where to have the movers place it. Then there were your clothes. Jacob had a gorgeous master bedroom, with a closet to die for, but all his things were in it. You were unsure if you should move them to make room for yours or just take up the closet in the spare room. Which while spacious, was nowhere near as nice as the one in Jacob's room. Everything would've been much easier had he been here.

 In the end, you split everything up, putting half your stuff in his closet and half in the other room. You figured the two of you would be doing a lot of compromising and this would just be one of them. You had his office moved around to accommodate your work desk, since you'd be working a lot from home, and you had to wonder how often he came in here, as the pile of papers on his desk looked like the size of Mount Fuji, volcanic eruption and all. You were tempted to straighten it out for him, but opted not to, not wanting to invade his privacy.

 You were just putting away the last of your stuff when you heard Jacob walk through the door. "Prinsessa, I'm home." He'd taken to calling you his Swedish princess lately and you had to admit you didn't hate it.

 "In the bedroom," you hollered back. It was late in the evening, too late for you to be up, but you wanted to see Jacob and make sure everything you'd done so far was fine with him.

 "I was surprised to see all the lights on when I pulled up. Couldn't you sleep?"

 "I just wanted to finish putting away a few things." He dropped his bag on the floor and came over to you, wrapping you up in his arms and dropping a few kisses to your lips.

 "I missed you these last couple of weeks." It was weird but you'd missed him as well. You had talked every day, sometimes several times, but those few days that you'd spent in Vancouver, had just brought a new closeness to this relationship. If a relationship was what you could call it. He did refer to you as his girlfriend, but the way you two had gotten here was definitely the road less traveled.

 You slid your arms up his chest, savoring the feel of his well-toned muscles there. "Funny...I didn't miss you at all." You had a hard time keeping a straight face.

 "Really?" Jacob asked. There was this twinkle in his eyes, right before his hands slid under your ass and he lifted you on him. You didn't even have a chance to wrap your legs around him, though he held you with ease. "Maybe I need to do a better job at leaving you some reminders for next time." His mouth went to the crook of your neck where he sucked on you and gave you little love bites. You were pretty sure there were going to be marks there.

 "And here this whole time I thought they called you Marky because of your last name," you teased, yet moved your head to the side to give him greater access.

 "Oh, I plan on leaving more than just this one." He carried you over to the bed, where he gingerly lowered you down. You loved how he could be slightly rough with you one minute and then next so gentle.  Admittedly, you'd like to see a little bit of his rough side, but hopefully, that would come with time.

 His hands slid under your shirt, along your sides; the callousness of them rough yet the touch tender, making you shiver. "No bra?" he asked, eyebrows shooting up with delight as he skimmed along the undersides, before cupping each breast.

 "I opted out of it a while ago." Though your body hadn't changed much in these last ten weeks, you did notice your breasts were more sensitive and sometimes you just couldn't stand having them confined longer than necessary. Tonight happened to be one of those times.

 "Well if it's an option, you don't ever have to wear it again." There was a devilish look in his eyes. "I like this ease of access." He was rolling your nipples between his thumb and index finger, eliciting moans out of you so that you had no chance to answer. Scrunching your shirt up, he dipped his head down to lavish attention on those same nipples he had been tweaking. Your body squirmed, as he swirled his tongue around it before sucking on it gently. He wedged his thigh between your legs and you found your body grinding against it while he played with first one nipple and then the other. "Oh prinsessa, I think you did miss me."

 There was no denying that your body missed this. Craved was more like it. You had a feeling there would never be a time that you didn't want him. What was surprising was the sense of loss that came with just simple day-to-day actions, like brushing your teeth together and sharing a meal. Those were the things you'd found yourself longing for these last few weeks.

 Jacob started to travel down your body. Trailing kisses as he went, yet stopping to whisper something in Swedish to the baby. He didn't spend long there, and before you could ask what he said; he was pulling your sweats and panties down. "Du gor mig galen med hur vat du ar." (you drive me crazy with how wet you are) You were going to have to start picking up Swedish or something in your spare time, as he seemed to always revert to his native language in the heat of the moment. There was no time to ask what he said, as he dove right into your pussy. Licking a stripe right up to your clit causing your hips to lift off the bed.

 You sucked in a breath when he repeated the action again, your body on fire like never before. When he flicked his tongue over your clit, you were gone. The orgasm hitting you hard and fast like never before. "Fuck," you screamed out, as your body trembled and spasmed.

 Jacob worked you through it, somewhat astonished with how little he had done to make you cum so quickly. Once, you finally stopped shaking he picked his head up from between your legs. "Are you alright, prinsessa?"

 "Yes," you sighed in a state of bliss, not knowing if it was the pregnancy or the fact that you hadn't seen Jacob in three weeks that made you climax like that.

 You lay there panting, still catching your breath. "Shall we do that again?" The smirk on Jacob's face had you laughing, but after a long day of unpacking, you knew your body wouldn't last long.

 "Do that and I may be done for the rest of the night." You were only half teasing but he chuckled and made his way back up your body, taking the hint.

 "Rather have this," Jacob flexed his hips into you and moaned out into the room again. He was out of his boxers in no time. Cupping his cock in his hand, then guiding it into you. "God, prinsessa, you always feel like heaven."

 "Mmm," was all you could answer back as he was buried deep in you, for he felt like heaven as well. When he finally started to move it felt like every nerve in your body was alive and tingling. With each thrust he took you to new heights you never knew were possible. "Oh Jacob," you moaned. "Don't stop...please...yes...oh god..."

 "Yeah, you like that prinsessa?" A smirk of satisfaction crossing his lips at knowing he was bringing you such exquisite pleasure. "Does my cock make you feel good?" He was pounding into you and you didn't know how much longer you were going to be able to hold on for. He must have felt the small flutter your pussy gave, as the first tremors of orgasm began. "Cum for me (Y/N)." You shattered at his words, climaxing once again with a force you never felt but just minutes ago. "Fuck, ya." He groaned out, spilling inside you as his orgasm hit as well.

 Your body was still quaking as he rolled you both onto your sides. His cock going flaccid yet still inside you. "God, you're beautiful," Jacob whispered those words, as he pushed strands of hair out of your face, before dropping kisses to your nose and lips. "If this is what happens when I get home from a road trip, I can't wait to go on another one."

 "Stop," you said playfully swatting at his chest.

 "I'm just teasing, prinsessa, though I do like coming home to you here. I think this will be good for us." You hoped it would, considering that you both had a lot banking on this working out. If this were to go south, then what would you do? Move back to LA with the baby? Stay here so that Jacob could be a part-time dad? There were so many questions swirling around in your brain, but when Jacob softly took his thumb to rub your cheek they all seemed to evaporate. "I didn't get to ask how you're feeling today?"

 "I'm good, well, we're good. That's three whole days without morning sickness." It was small, but it was progress. Hopefully, you were on the upswing of that as you went into your eleventh week.

 "Good, I can't see how that's good for either one of you." You couldn't either, even though everything you read and everyone you talked to, said it was normal. "When you were moving in did you figure out which room you wanted for the baby?"

 "I thought the smart thing would be to keep it next to our room. Oh, I mean your room."

 "No, you were right the first time. This is our room." He kissed you quickly before adding, "If we're going to make this work then everything is ours."

 You yawned, completely exhausted from the babe and moving in. "Ok," you somehow managed to get out, agreeing with Jacob.

 "Sleep, (Y/N). It's late." You weren't sure if it was the combination of his soft whispered words while he rubbed your back or sheer exhaustion, but the minute you closed your eyes you were out.

 Jacob just chuckled to himself as he watched you fall asleep. He was fighting the feeling himself, though he just wanted to steal a few more glances as you slept on peacefully in his arms. It was strange to him, someone who wasn't ready to settle down, how much he loved this. Just holding you in his arms and watching you sleep. Ever since he'd met you, something inside him had changed. You made him want more than just random hookup after random hookup, and now he had that something more with you. Though pretty soon there would be a little one as well. His hand stole down to your belly. He thought for sure there would be a bump there, after not seeing you for three weeks. The little blueberry inside you had grown to a strawberry now. He knew this because of course, he had to google it, along with so many other things. Like how to change a diaper, and what he should expect at each week of your pregnancy. He knew that right now you could start with mood swings, and be crying one minute and happy the next. He was just waiting for that to happen. He was trying to be prepared as best he could to help you out with the baby growing inside you. His baby. God, it sounded weird, yet so good at the same time. It was thoughts of his little one that had him drifting off to sleep.

 Jacob was home for the next five days before off on a short road trip before Thanksgiving. It was after a one point loss that he brought up finally being able to tell people about your pregnancy. The two of you were driving home after the game and you could tell his mind was preoccupied, you just assumed it was about the game. That was until he spoke. "I think we should tell everyone." It was sort of out of the blue and you had to admit you weren't sure if you were ready.

 "I don't know Jacob."

 Before you could say more, he looked over at you saying, "why?"

 "It's just...I'm the new person here. I've only been to three games counting tonight." He looked over again when you came to a stoplight, confused by what you were saying. "They're going to judge me." When he still didn't understand, you added, "They're all going to think I baby trapped you."

 "No, they won't."

 "Please, I know women, and you said it yourself; they're a family. I'll be looked at as the outsider that wanted to get her claws into a famous athlete."

 "I don't know about famous," he joked and you noticed that he tended to do that a lot. When you just gave him a look, he reached over and squeezed your thigh, letting his hand rest there after doing so. "I'm teasing (Y/N). I know these guys, they aren't going to think that way once we tell them. Hell, I'll take full blame. I mean I should've worn a condom, but if I'm being honest...I'm glad I didn't."

 You were shocked at his words, to the point that you had none yourself. "Don't look so shocked," Jacob said breaking the silence. "I'll admit, that kids weren't in my plans right now, but they were in them. And I have to say now, once I saw blueberry, who's now strawberry; I'm kind of excited to be a dad. I guess that's why I want to tell everyone."

 Well, shit, now he had you all weepy. You understood where he was coming from, there was something about seeing the baby on the ultrasound, even though you had no clue what you were looking at, and then hearing the heartbeat, well it made you feel the exact same way as he did. "Ok."

 "Ok?"

 "Ok, we can tell people."

 "Really? I didn't say that to make you change your mind or anything." His hand was running up and down your thigh now, more in an excited manner than seductive, yet it still sent tingles through your body.

 "I know, but I'll be twelve weeks in a couple days and then we're pretty much out of the woods according to the doctor." That had been your main concern, having a miscarriage. It would be hard enough on you let alone having to tell everyone who was sharing in your happiness.

 "Oh," Jacob exclaimed and you could tell that was something that hadn't really crossed his mind. "Well, we can wait then."

 "What if we compromise." After all, the two of you had been doing that a lot recently, no reason to stop now. "You're only gone a couple short days. We can tell everyone when you get back, at Thanksgiving." When you were with the other wives and girlfriends tonight they had mentioned that they were going to be doing a group thanksgiving dinner for those who wished to celebrate and didn't have family in town. It was a no-brainer to say yes, though you probably should've talked to Jacob first. It was too late for that now, as you were already down for bringing a couple pies for dessert.

 "That actually sounds like a good plan. Even if I didn't know we were officially going." There was that damn squeeze of your thigh again to let you know he was teasing. This time you played along.

 "Hmm, I don't remember you being mentioned in the invite, but I'm sure I can bring a plus one." You were half tempted to reach over to grasp his thigh, but you settled for just linking your fingers together with his, liking the fact that you two had this easiness with each other.

 "I'm fine with being your plus one anytime, prinsessa."

 Once the matter was settled the two of you concentrated on other things until you got home and he whisked you up to the bedroom. You had read that your sex drive might decrease some during these weeks of pregnancy but you were not finding that to be the fact. If anything, you were constantly, well the only word for it was, horny. Just being in Jacob's presence drove you wild, and it seemed to be the same for him. Though the two of you did have your tender moments, where you cuddled up on the couch to watch hockey; Jacob explaining the premises of the game better to you. There were also nights you would just lie in bed and talk about the baby. Jacob gently caressing the small bump on your belly that wasn't even noticeable unless you were naked, which around him seemed to be often.

 Before you knew it, he was off on another road trip. Immersing yourself in work during the day was easy, it was the nights that were long. Game nights, you found yourself at one of the other ladies houses watching the game together or just laughing and enjoying each other’s company, but then you would head home to an empty house and an even more vacant bed. It wasn’t lost on you that just a few short months ago, this was the life you wanted. No craved. Now here you were wishing that Jacob was home with you, preferably in bed, but just being in the house would be enough for you. Though you couldn’t complain too much as Jacob would call and facetime you several times each night.

 It wasn’t too long of a roadie, and before you knew it, he was back in Vancouver and you were getting ready for Thanksgiving. With each pie you baked, you had to admit you were getting more and more nervous at the idea of telling Jacob’s teammates. You’d taken the morning to tell his parents, who while not exactly thrilled about the way it happened, were happy for the both of you and excited about having a grandchild. Yours were pretty much the same, now understanding that your move to Canada was more than just business.

 Hours later, you were in the car headed to Chris Tanev’s place, where he and his girlfriend Kendra were hosting. You couldn’t stop your legs from bouncing as you went past neighborhood after neighborhood. “I’m telling you there’s nothing to be worried about,” Jacob insisted, placing his hand over your knee in an effort to get you to stop.

 “Yeah, well I’ll be better when it’s over and I don’t have to see the disapproving stares.”

 “You weren’t this nervous telling our families.”

 “I was for yours. I just wasn’t showing it on the outside.” Admittedly, you had been scared about telling them, but Jacob’s parents were just so kind. There were also words exchanged in Swedish which you had no clue as to their meaning, but Jacob assured you it was nothing bad at all. “Besides our parents aren’t going to judge us at the end of the day. Family kind of has to love you, even when you make mistakes.”

 “Mistakes, huh?”

 “That’s not what I meant.”

 “I know, just trying to take your mind off of everything. So, you’re cool with my parents coming over for a bit. I mean dad and I will be on the road a couple of days, so it’ll just be you and my mom, but I know she’s really excited about meeting you.”

 “Yeah, I’m actually looking forward to it.” Which was the honest to god’s truth. You wanted to learn all about Jacob and his family, for no matter what happened between the two of you, they would always be a part of the baby’s life. “I’m sure she’s got some good stories about you growing up. You know the ones that are way too embarrassing to tell, but mom’s do anyhow.” He groaned and you laughed. There were obviously some he didn’t want to be told and you were looking forward to hearing about those the most.

 “Maybe I should be rethinking this.”

 “Don’t you dare.” As the words rolled off your tongue, you realized you were pulling up to the Tanev residence.

 “Ready?” You took a deep breath, steeling yourself for the next few hours. You planned on just following Jacob’s lead. It wasn’t like you were going to walk in and simply announce that you were pregnant; however, and whenever, he wanted to tell them, was his choice.

 He squeezed your hand one last time before the two of you exited the car. You grabbed the desserts, tossing two pies at Jacob before taking the last two, and heading to the door. “Welcome, guys,” Chris said as he opened the door, then took one of the pies off your hands. “Come on in.” Not everyone was there yet, which was rather nice. There were a few of the single players there, along with Sarah and Erik. You knew for sure Holly and Bo were coming as well and a few more of the couples, that you weren’t extremely close to yet, they just hadn’t arrived yet.

 Mike Del Zotto was quick to come up and throw an arm around you. “Hey (Y/N), it’s good to see you. Glad you two decided to join us. I thought maybe this guy would keep you all to himself. I know I would.” He gave you a quick wink, but it was the look on Jacob’s face that had you laughing. He was not happy with DZ flirting with you by any means.

 “Keep it up and we may just have to head home,” Jacob countered, though in a joking manner.

 “Men,” Sarah said, grabbing you from Michael’s hold so that she could hug you. “Why don’t you boys run along and watch football or something. Let’s go put these in the kitchen.” She took the pies from Jacob and headed off.

 Jacob came over and pecked you on the lips, before slyly asking, “You good?”

 “Yeah,” with that he gave your hip a final squeeze then went with the other guys to the movie room.

 “These look amazing,” Kendra told you, checking out the baked goods. “Where did you get them from?”

 “Oh, I made them. I hope that’s ok.”

 “Ok? Oh my god, of course, they’re probably way better than store-bought. Though you have me feeling guilty now because I did not make any of the food.” It was then that you noticed large tinfoil pans here and there in the kitchen with a couple in the oven. “I like to cook, but not for this herd. I don’t have enough oven space for the number of turkeys we’d need.”

 “Well, I’m still amazed at you having everyone,” you told her, for it had to be a feat hosting this many hockey players along with their significant others. “Everything looks amazing and your house is gorgeous by the way.”

 “Thank you. Would you like a glass?” Kendra held out a bottle of red wine, literally your weakness any other time than right now. “I was just pouring us a second.”

 “Yeah, join us,” Sarah added. “We’re going to need it with all this male testosterone today.”

 Somehow at the last couple of get-togethers, you’d managed to get out of drinking simply by saying that you had work the next day, but that would not be the case tomorrow. “I really shouldn’t, but a bottle of water would be great.”

 “One water coming up.” Kendra headed over to the fridge when you saw Sarah eyeing you funny.

 “Ok, so I have to ask.” This from Sarah as she still had that look on her face. It was the one Kennedy always made when she knew something. Nine times out of ten your best friend was always right, but then this was Sarah, someone who you considered a friend but didn’t know near as well. “You haven’t been drinking at any games and you’re not today. Are you….?” She paused letting the word pregnant just hang in the air, for you to fill in the blank.

 “Are you?” Kendra asked now fully into the conversation, yet still, neither said the word.

 All you could do was take a deep breath and say, “Yeah, I am.” Still not saying the P-word as if that would change the circumstance of your situation.

 “Oh my god, congratulations.” Sarah came running around the island to hug you. "That's amazing." You were stunned there wasn't a hint of disapproval on her face. And when you looked back at Kendra who was waiting her turn to hug you, all you could see was happiness as well.

 "Jacob is going to be a great father," Kendra told you when she wrapped you up in an embrace. "How far along are you?"

 "How far along is what?" Chris asked.

 "I hope you mean dinner because I'm starving," Del Zotto added.

 Bringing up the rear of the trio was Jacob and all you could do was give him a sheepish grin as Kendra broke the news. "Congratulations, Daddy."

 Both Michael and Chris turned to him, with shocked looks on their faces. "Why didn't you tell us, man?" Chris spoke first, as he clapped Jacob on the back then gave him the standard bro hug.

 "I planned on it today," Jacob answered while giving you a look both shocked and thrilled that you were the one spilling the beans. "Just hadn't found the right time."

 Del Zotto came up and hugged you first, followed by Chris, and the next thing you knew the whole place was congratulating the two of you. It was nothing like you thought, not one person questioned the fact that you'd just moved in together or started to see one another. Jacob had been right all along. They were just like your family, supportive of the decision the two of you had made. You were beginning to believe that this may work out. Especially, as your relationship with Jacob only seemed to grow stronger with each passing day.

 After Thanksgiving, things seemed to be moving in fast forward. You hit the twelve-week mark in your pregnancy, which meant another ultrasound and another chance for you and Jacob to further bond over the baby. It went from being a strawberry to being the size of a lime, according to the chart, and this time you could both see it was an actual baby growing inside of you. There was a distinct shape to its little arms and legs, which made the whole thing that much more real and exciting. Which is how you found yourself asking the girls how you would go about getting a little Canucks jersey with Jacob’s number and Daddy written on the back as a Christmas gift for Jacob. It was the first baby item that you bought and it felt so perfect.

 As Christmas drew near, you found yourself decorating Jacob’s house for the holiday season. Even though you’d been living in the house for several weeks, it still didn’t feel like your home quite yet. Jacob had few holiday decorations, so you found yourself shopping more than you cared to admit. By the time he arrived home, you had the house transformed into something worthy of a Hallmark movie. It wasn’t what Jacob was used to by any means considering the Swedes are more classic and subtle when it came to holiday décor, but he loved it all the same.

 Christmas was a quiet affair. You opted to stay in Canada with Jacob, figuring that you might as well start making some new traditions, like celebrating on Christmas Eve as is done in Sweden. The two of you tried to mesh your holiday traditions as much as possible, so you agreed to open one present Christmas Eve after you had eaten some classic holiday dishes from Jacob’s homeland, then opting to open the rest Christmas morning as your family had always done. Jacob bought you a beautiful charm bracelet. There was a Welcome to Vegas charm, as well as a hockey stick, and Canucks one, but the one you loved the most was the one that had Mom to be written on a heart.

 “This is beautiful,” you said leaning over to give him a kiss. “Thank you.”

 You handed over your gift to him, which he took with a silly grin on his face. Tearing through the paper, he unwrapped the box in no time, then pulled out the tiny hockey sweater. “This is great (Y/N). I can’t wait to see him or her in it at the game.”

 “There’s more.” He looked at you curiously then peered back inside the box, seeing the gold chain lying inside. You’d seen him wear one on a few occasions but this had a little charm on the end. He looked at it several times before you finally gave in. “It’s the doppler sound of the baby’s heartbeat. I had told you I’d record it for you before we did the ultrasound here in Vancouver, but I still wanted you to have something to remember that moment.”

 His eyes started to well up, just like they had that day when you heard the heartbeat. “This is…wow…I love it.” It was Jacob’s turn to plant a kiss on your lips, only this one became a little more heated. He finally pulled away, but only to say, “Can you put it on me?”

 Thankfully he was seated on the couch, so you got up and placed the chain around his neck. The moment it was secure, he looked down at the charm and smiled, before reaching to grab you and pull you close again. This time speaking hushed words to the baby in Swedish as he always did.

 “I think for my New Year’s resolution, I’m going to learn Swedish. I’m dying to know what you tell the baby.”

 “That time, I said that they are so lucky to have the most wonderful mom in the world.” Well, if that didn’t make the heat rise to your cheeks. “There might have been a few other things as well. I’m more than happy to teach you though if you’d like to learn.”

 “I think I would. It would be nice to teach our child your native tongue, and they say to start as early as possible. Which it seems that you are.” He just grinned then hauled you down on his lap, cradling your small little bump once you were seated.

 “Well here’s your first lesson. You say God Jul for Merry Christmas in Swedish.”

 You repeated the words, butchering them a bit, then repeated it again much better. “Very good, prinsessa. Obviously, you know that one as well.”

 “I do. Though I wonder if I shall still get that title if we have a girl.”

 “Hmm, might have to change it to Drottning.”

 “I have no clue what that means, but it’s not nearly as romantic.” Jacob let out a bark of laughter.

 “No, I don’t suppose queen sounds as good in Swedish as it does English. I guess I will just have to think about it.”

 “Which makes me wonder, do you want a boy or a girl?” Everyone knew that all you both wanted was a healthy baby, but you wouldn’t lie and say that you’d love to see Jacob with a son. One he could teach all his hockey moves to, though he could just as easily do that with a girl. Maybe it was that you wanted a boy just so that you could see Jacob through him. One that had his sense of humor and good looks. Though your child would probably never be in trouble if he could replicate his father’s grin. It melted your heart every time you saw it. You had to shake yourself from where your thoughts were leading for you never saw yourself as this person; the kind that wanted to see the man that they loved reflected in their children.

 Did you literally just think that you loved Jacob? Certainly, you had feelings for him, but love; no, it couldn’t be that. You hadn’t known Jacob long enough to say you were in love with him. Hell, the two of you were in the process of getting a divorce. Weren’t people falling out of love when that happened and not into it?

 “Either will be fine, just healthy.” Jacob's voice brought you back to reality and where your train of thoughts was leading. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to explore those feelings; now was just not the right moment for it. Later, you thought, when you weren’t wrapped up in his arms with this warm fuzzy feeling from the holiday season already bubbling inside you.

 “Well, we both want that, but isn’t there one you want a little bit more than the other?” You probed further, ignoring those earlier thoughts.

 “Not really prinsessa.” He had to have some preference just as you did.

 “So, then you don’t want to know what we’re having?”

 “Not if you don’t.” He was too damn accommodating at times or was that he was disinterested. He was always talking to the baby, so you didn’t think that it was the latter.

 “We have a few more weeks to think about it.” No point in making the decision right now, maybe he would change his mind. “I made the next appointment for when you’re back, on the fifteenth. We’ll have to know by then.”

 He kissed your temple, hands running under your shirt so that he could caress the tiny baby bump. “We will, for now though, we better get to bed before Santa comes.”

 “Is Santa coming the reason you want to go?” you teased as you could feel his erection growing against you.

 “Well, if you let me, prinsessa, Santa won’t be the only one cuming.” God, you loved his sense of humor. There was that word again. It had you jumping off his lap in order for your mind to not wander down that path again.

 “Guess we better head to bed then.” He was swift to follow you, sweeping you off your feet and carrying you to the bedroom, where he definitely kept his word.

 It was two days later that he was headed off on a ten-day road trip. You were definitely not looking forward to it, as the house always seemed empty without him in it.

 The team played on New Year’s Eve and had it been anywhere else than New Jersey you would’ve gone to watch only so you could ring in the new year together. Instead, you spent that night with all the Canuck ladies, facetiming Jacob as the new year approached. Jacob was still going to be on the road for another five days, so you busied yourself by taking down all the holiday decorations. You decided to make the place a bit homier, adding pictures and artwork here and there. The place was really starting to feel more like home.

 The only room that still needed work, was the office. While your desk was neat and organized, Jacob’s was a disaster. Had been since the day you moved in. You were seriously starting to wonder how things got done with the mountain of papers on his desk. All those papers had been driving you crazy every day you came in to work. Jacob needed someone to organize him, or at least that’s what you told yourself as you sat in his chair and started to sift through piece after piece of mail and documents.

 There was a pile for bills, all of which somehow got paid, though you didn’t know how. A pile for legal documents and a miscellaneous pile that you needed to figure out where to put. Once you organized the first two, you moved on to the random ones that you weren’t one hundred percent sure of. You were halfway through when you came across a familiar envelope; the same one you’d sent the divorce papers back in. Why it hadn’t caught your attention when you first separated it, you weren’t sure?

 You opened it up, assuming it was a copy of the document you’d signed. What you found inside shocked you. It was the original paperwork. The blue ink you signed it in staring back at you, but that wasn’t the part that told you it was a copy. It was the fact that Jacob’s signature was nowhere to be found. He hadn’t signed it. Why? You’d both agreed to the divorce, it was practically a done deal, only now it wasn't.

taglist: @iculyrea​  @fiveholegoal​  @raysofcrosby @leafs-lover​ @sexysidney87​ @lovethepreds​  @miranda0102​  @stbluesbrat21  @perrieeloise  @mandypants95​  @hockeyunits​  @liz96893  @golfergirl1982​  @princessphilly​  @ajstylesworld​  @zinka8  @dontworrybeekappy​  @hiimana  @meishaabae​ @heatherawoowoo @beauvibaby @hockeybabe87 @leafs-forever @dancingonmyown87​ @himbos-on-ice

[kpoppwriter]

Make Me Insane

❧ Genre: fluffy and suggestive (Tattoo Artist!Yuta x Baker!reader)

❧ Words: 1.7k+

❧ Warnings: marking, super light dry humping, 

❧ Synopsis: A dinner date at home with Yuta was normally a sweet date that you both enjoyed but what happens when it takes a bit of a...steamy turn? 

❧ A/N: today has been a crappy day at work but I was finally able to finish this yay!

Piercings and Pastries | A Simple Gesture | Make Me Insane | Birthday Cake | Wandering Thoughts

~※ Main Masterlist ※~

You were humming to yourself along to the music drifting into the kitchen from the living room. You happily chopped up vegetables for the dinner you and Yuta had planned on cooking that evening. Yuta was currently at the store getting some ingredients you needed before he came over. A dreamy sigh left your lips as you thought about how ideal this all was. Your thoughts were interrupted by a knock echoing through your apartment. You put the knife down and headed for the door. A wide smile spread across your face when you saw Yuta standing outside with grocery bags in each of his hands. He laughed as he stepped inside your apartment. 

“I swear every time I see you you’re wearing an apron.”

“I’m a baker. What did you expect?” you laughed

Yuta put down the groceries on the kitchen counter. He turned to face you, the same soft smile you were now used to seeing gracing his lips. He reached out and pulled you into his chest for a hug. Your arms instinctively wrapped around his torso hugging him back. You could smell the cologne he normally wore mixed with a hint of latex and 70% alcohol on his shirt; a pretty familiar smell to you now since he always smelt like that after work. He pulled back and pressed a kiss to your temple. 

“Shall we get started?” 

“I actually already got started,” you gestured over to the vegetables on the cutting board

“Ah, look at that, you overachiever,” he teased, pinching your cheek, “Well, I’ll put away these groceries while you finish that up.”

You stopped Yuta before he started diving into the bags. You grabbed his arm to make him stay where he was. 

“I got something.”

You took a suspicious looking piece of clothing off of the counter and held it up for Yuta to see, 

“An apron?” he questioned

“Yeah! Since we cook a lot I thought I’d get a spare apron for you.”

 Yuta couldn’t help the butterflies that erupted in his stomach from your cute gesture. You helped him put it on, your fingers easily tying the strings around his waist securely. The close proximity brought a light pink tint to your cheeks even though you’d been in situations similar to this many times. There was just something about Yuta that made you shy, even after 5 months of dating. Who knows if time would ever fix that though. 

You went back to cutting up vegetables while Yuta unpacked the groceries. You made small talk as you each worked on your respective tasks. He asked you how the bakery was that day and you asked him how he snuck out of work early to come have dinner with you (”I promised Jaehyun I’d close for a week so you better enjoy this time together while it lasts.”). 

After putting all the groceries away, you asked Yuta to start simmering some chicken broth. He put a pot on the stove and added the chicken broth, waiting for your next instruction. While he waited, he decided to take some time to admire you in secret. You back was turned towards him and your focus was on the vegetables you were preparing. You weren’t wearing anything stunning or fancy- just a smile pair of sweats and a tank top- but Yuta was still enamored by you. Every time you moved, a little bit of skin peaked out from between the waistband of the sweats and the hem of the tank top. It wasn’t anything overly scandalizing but it made Yuta’s mind run wild. He couldn’t stop thinking of his hands running all over your body, his fingers dancing over your skin and the sweet sounds he was sure you’d make and the feeling of-

“How’s the broth?” 

Your voice brought Yuta back to reality, his eyes blinking a couple times as he tried to regain his composer. He looked over at the pot on the stove that was practically boiling now. 

“It’s ready,” he mumbled

“Ok perfect,” you hummed

You brought the vegetables over and slid them off the cutting board into the broth. You added a couple spices and herbs to the pot before stirring the mixture up. Yuta stood behind you, his arms around your waist. He pressed a kiss just below your ear making you twitch in response, the kiss tickling your sensitive skin. Amused by your reaction, he pressed another kiss in the same spot. A small whine left your lips. He couldn’t help but continue leaving open mouthed kisses all along your skin. The reactions he was getting were just far too good. Your hands stilled, your mind going blank at the sensation of Yuta’s lips on your neck. His hands traveled down to take purchase on your hips. His fingers rubbed soothing circles into your hip bones, the simple action making you quite flustered. Your eyes closed and your head moved to the side to give him more access to your neck. Yuta was very pleased by how responsive you were being to his ministrations. But much to your dismay, he stopped abruptly, his focus now on the soup on the stove.

“It looks like it’s done,” he whispered in your ear

“Ah..y-yeah...” you gulped

You stirred the soup to make sure it was really done then turned off the burner. Yuta finally let go of your hips so you could get some bowls for the both of you. He was rather pleased when he saw how flushed your cheeks had gotten. They almost looked as red as the peppers in the soup.

You served some soup for the two of you and brought it over to your dining room table. You both took a seat and began devouring the food, the hunger built up from working hard all day. You or Yuta barely spoke except for the occasional praise of how good the food was. You thought Yuta was being quiet because he was too busy eating to make conversation but in actuality, his mind was mostly clouded with thoughts of you in the most compromising positions and making the most lovely noises. He wasn’t sure how much longer he’d survive if he kept thinking about these things. 

Dinner was finished rather quickly and the two of you spent some time cleaning up the kitchen before going to watch a show in your bedroom. Normally, you’d spend your time cuddling on the couch with Yuta after dinner. But you were feeling bold tonight (and you really wanted to lay down after your busy day at the bakery). Yuta definitely didn’t complain.

You were wrapped up in Yuta’s arms, your head on his chest. His fingers traced little patterns on your skin. You tried to focus on the show playing on the TV but your mind was so preoccupied with the sensation of Yuta’s fingers on your body. His fingers eventually found their way up to side of your neck. Your body jolted when you felt his fingertips ghosting over your sensitive skin.

“What’s wrong, babydoll?”

You could hear the smirk in his voice.

“It..that tickles,” you cleared your throat

“It tickles?” he teased, “It didn’t seem like you were ticklish before when I was kissing your neck.” 

“I- but..that’s different!” you huffed

Yuta laughed as he moved you onto your back, his body now hovering over yours. You could feel your heart beating a mile a minute as you stared up at Yuta. You let out a shaky breath waiting for his next move. 

“So it would tickle if i just...”

He leant down and pressed a small kiss to the side of your neck. A small noise escaped your mouth, which was just a delight to Yuta. He left a few more pecks to your neck before sucking a small mark onto your skin. You squirmed beneath him trying to keep your composure. 

“Yuta,” you whined

You heard him curse under his breath, his teeth grazing over the red mark he just left. Your hands traced moved along his arms, your nails occasionally scraping at the tattoos on his skin. One of his hands snuck under the hem of your shirt giving him more skin to touch. He stopped his hands just below your breasts leaving there. He pulled away from your neck and captured your lips in a feverish kiss. 

“God, you make me go insane,” he mumbled against your lips, “You don’t know the effect you have on me.”

His words drew another whine from your lips and made your face flush a bright red. His name left your lips again. He pulled away from your lips, a pleased smile gracing his face when he saw how red your face was. You grabbed onto his shirt and gently tugged on it. 

“Yes baby?” 

“I- umm...” you avoided eye contact with the man above you, “I know we haven’t done anything more than kiss- mostly because I’m a bit shy and a little inexperienced- and I know you’re a little more opened minded with stuff like..this and I’m-”

Yuta pressed his lips against yours shutting you up. His hand gently cupped your cheek, the pad of his thumb stroking your skin. 

“You’re rambling, sweetheart,” he chuckled

“I know. I just...” you let out a shaky breath,” I want you.”

Yuta stared down at you, his eyes making you feel small. You tried to look away but the hand on your cheek kept you facing him. 

“Are you sure baby?” he asked, “You know you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“No! No, I want this,” you assured him

“Okay babydoll,” he kissed your forehead, “But you have to promise me you’ll stop me if you want to stop.”

“I promise.”

“Good,” he leaned down, his mouth beside your ear, “And I promise I’ll make you feel real good.”

He ground his hips into yours making a sweet moan leave your lips. One of your hands gripped at his upper arm while the other flew into his hair tugging at the strands. A low groan came out of Yuta’s mouth.

“Fuck baby,” he groaned, “You barely know what you’re doing but you’re turning me on so much.”

You wriggled under the male, his words sending a shiver down your spine. 

“Yuta, please I..I need you,” you whimpered

He pulled back and looked down at your desperate figure, your hands refusing to let him get too far. He gently pinched your cheek.

“You’re so cute,” he cooed, “I’ll take good care of you, babydoll.”

[alwaysachorusgirl]

Adoption Day

Pairing: Frederick Chilton x Female Reader

Word Count: 2089

For: Covers the Animal Shelter square for @adarafaelbarba 's fall moodboard bingo

TW: very brief mention of past childhood abuse and animal abandonment, but other than that, it's mostly fluff

Dedication: This is for the world's best cat mom, @madamsnape921 ,because it's her birthday! Go send her some birthday love today!

Author's Note: Jumping back a little in the Cat Daddy Frederick timeline to cover Buttercup's adoption story. Per my previously established continuity, this would take place in January, right after New Year's, and prior to "Not According to Plan"

Tags: @itsjustmyfantasyroom @prurientpuddlejumper @thatesqcrush @welcometothemxdhouse @raulesparza4eva @teamsladsandgents @rosequcrtz

The winter wind howled outside the window and snow drifted across the windowpanes, but inside Frederick Chilton’s ornate home you were safe and warm. No, our home, I live here now, you thought to yourself. You were still getting used to thinking of it as your home, too. You were unpacking the last of the boxes from your recent move. A fire was roaring in the living room fireplace, giving the room a cozy, comforting glow. You inhaled the aroma of the hearty vegetable stew that was cooking in the crockpot in the kitchen, and your stomach growled. You were going to need to take a dinner break soon, and as if he was reading your mind, Frederick entered the room and came over to where you were placing your books on the expansive built-in shelves.

“How goes it with the books? Do you need more shelf space? I can always move somethings into my office if you need more.”

“Thank you, Frederick, but don’t worry; I think I have more than enough. I am, however, getting rather hungry. I think it’s time we ate dinner, don’t you?

“I couldn’t agree more, my love, shall I set the table?” he asked, taking your hand, and helping you to your feet.

“Thank you, Frederick, that would be lovely.”

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

“This stew is fantastic, my love! We’ll most certainly have to use this recipe again.”

When you didn’t respond right away, Frederick started to worry and reached for your hand. “Darling?”

“Oh! Sorry! I zoned out for a moment, must be more tired than I thought; Thank you, Frederick, I have a whole slew of crock pot recipes that are perfect for cold winter days.”

“Y/N, are you alright? Have I done something wrong? Is it the house? Is there something you’re not happy with?”

“What? Oh, Frederick, no!” You squeezed his reassuringly. “You haven’t done anything wrong, my love, and the house is perfectly fine. It’s just…” you paused, not sure how to broach your thoughts.

“What is it? Whatever you need, I’ll make sure you have it! Cost is no object!”

You took a breath and tried to collect your thoughts. You loved cats, but your previous apartment had not allowed pets. You had promised yourself that when you eventually moved you would be a cat mom again. It had been far too long. But it was something that you and Frederick hadn’t discussed yet, and you had no idea what his feelings were on the subject.

“What did you think about getting a cat?” You blurted out, bracing yourself for what you were sure was going to be an argument.

It was now Frederick’s turn to go silent, taken aback by your unexpected query. He mulled it over in his head before answering.

“Honestly, my love, I’ve never thought about it before. I never had a pet of any kind growing up. My parents did not allow animals in the house.”

“Oh, Frederick, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.” In theory, you knew you probably should have guessed that. You knew that Frederick’s father had been a hard, cruel man, and had been abusive toward Frederick and his mother. Frederick’s mother had been so worn down by it that she eventually shutdown, mentally and emotionally, and neglected to protect her son when he needed it the most. Of course, they hadn’t allowed pets, they hadn’t even allowed their son to have a normal childhood, or an ounce of happiness.

“My darling, you have nothing to apologize for,” said Frederick, placing soft kisses on the back of your hand. “If it’s a cat you want, then a cat you shall have. I’ll do some research after we finish here. Cats need supplies, right? Food, litter, toys, those fancy cat trees, cute little sweaters?”

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

After dinner you and Frederick sat side-by-side on the couch with your laptops, him researching what kind of supplies you going to need to buy, and you were looking at your local SPCA’s website.

“Good god, I had no idea how many different types of cat litter there were!”

“Oh, Frederick, if you think that’s bad, wait until you see how competitive the cat food market is. Hmm…that’s interesting…”

“What is it?” asked Frederick, looking over at your laptop.

“This listing here,” you said, pointing at a blank gray box. “There should be a picture here, like there is for the other listings, but it’s blank. It says it’s supposed to be a 2-month-old black female…. hang on; I have an idea.”

You grabbed your phone off the coffee table and scrolled through your contacts until you found the name you were looking for. You hit “Call” and waited.

“Hello?” A voice finally picked up on the other end.

“Joanne! Hi! It’s Y/N. How are you?”

“I’m great, how are you? It’s been ages since the last time we hung out.”

“I’m good, and you’re right; it has been too long. Is this a good time to talk?”

“Sure! What’s up?”

“Do you still work for the county SPCA?”

“Oh, you bet I do! Oh my god, are you finally in the market to adopt?”

“Yes, I am, and I have a question about one of the cat listings on the website. The one that’s missing a picture?”

“Yes, I just noticed that a few hours ago. Our website person put that up prematurely. The kitten was just spayed, and normally we wait until the animal has had adequate recovery time before we add them to the site, but accidents happen. Last I checked, the little one is recovering nicely and should be ready to interact a couple days. She’s the sweetest thing. Someone dumped her in a cardboard box at our front door. She had a leg injury, but that’s also healing up. She loves to play, loves to cuddle, and I’ll think she’ll thrive in a good home. Would you like to make an appointment to see her?”

“Yes, I would! What time slots do you have available?”

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

A few days later, you and Frederick walked arm in arm into the county SPCA. Frederick had rush-ordered all the supplies you thought you’d need and then some. You both excited and nervous. You’d already taken a huge step by moving in together, and now you were adopting a pet. You looked over at Frederick and noticed the uncertainty in his eyes. He also seemed leaning on his cane for support. He always seemed to do that when he was unsure about something. You gave his arm a gentle squeeze and kissed his cheek.

“It’s going to be okay, Frederick, you’re to be a wonderful cat dad. I believe in you.”

Frederick blushed and placed a soft kiss on your temple.

“Thank you, my love, I appreciate your faith in me, even though I’m still not sure what’s done to deserve it, or you.”

Before you could respond to that, Joanne came out her office and rushed toward you.

“Y/N! It’s so good to see you!”

“It’s good to see you, too, Joanne.” You enveloped her in a big hug and then motioned to Frederick. “Joanne, this is Dr. Frederick Chilton, my Frederick.”

Frederick gave you the most loving of looks, and nearly melted into a puddle at your feet at sound of you referring to him as “your Frederick.”

“Nice to meet you, Dr. Chilton,” said Joanne, extending her hand.

“And you,” he replied, shaking hands.

“Well, I suppose you want to meet the little one; right this way!”

You and Frederick followed Joanne to cat section of the shelter. You walked past several cats, each one trying to get your attention from their enclosures. If you had your way, you’d take them all home, but you didn’t think Frederick was quite ready for that yet; but maybe one day…

“Here she is, “announced Joanne, stopping in front of one of the enclosures. A tiny black, fluffy kitten was inside, and her eyes lit up when she saw you. She was immediately on her feet, and you noticed she still had a slight limp in her injured leg, but she was full of energy and mewing incessantly. Joanne opened the door and carefully lifted her out. You reached out to take her, but the impatient kitten leapt out of Joanne’s hands and into your waiting arms.

“Oh! Hello! Hi baby, hi sweetheart,” you cooed.

“Mew, mew, mew!”

You looked into her eyes, and it was love at first sight. You did your best to hold onto her, shifting and adjusting your arms to accommodate her constant movement and attempts to climb up your shoulder. You gave her a little scratch between her ears and kissed her head. She was perfect.

“Mew! Mew!”

“Yes, baby, it’s okay, I’ve got you, I’ve got you.”

Frederick stood there watching you with the kitten, completely dumbstruck. Just when he thought he couldn’t fall anymore in love with you, you had to go and surprise him. You were a natural cat mom, cradling the tiny ball of fluff and talking to her like she was a human. He saw the kitten rub her nose against your chin and looked like she was giving you kisses. He also saw the look of pure love and joy on your face, and he lived for that, wanted to see that every day. He didn’t know anything about raising a cat, but for you, he would try.

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

Joanne led you to a visitor’s room so that you and Frederick could spend some quality time getting to know the kitten. Frederick removed his coat and offered to take the kitten so that you could take off yours. You demonstrated how to hold the kitten and then handed her to Frederick. He held her close to chest and sat down.

“Mew?” the kitten looked up at him, confused as to who this new person was.

“It’s alright, little one, I’ve got you,” he tried to reassure her. A lock of his normally perfectly quaffed hair suddenly flopped in his face, and the kitten’s eyes grew wide.

“Mew?” she raised a paw and tentatively batted at Frederick’s hair. “Mew…”

“Oh, that’s adorable,” you said, plopping down next to them on a bean bag chair. You saw the smile on his face and nudged him with your elbow. “See? She likes you. And I think she wants to play.” You looked around the room and saw the toy boxes, filled with various dog and cat toys, but then something else caught your eye. “Frederick?”

“Yes, my love?”

“Hand her back to me and take off your scarf, please.”

He did as he was told. You carefully placed the kitten on the carpet and proceeded to dangle the scarf in front if her. Her eyes went wide again, and then she crouched, wiggled her backside, and pounced. Her little paws batted at the scarf, then she would roll around kick at it with her hind legs.

“It certainly looks like she’s enjoying herself,” Frederick chuckled. “So, what are we going to call her?”

“I was thinking ‘Buttercup”,” you said matter-of-factly.

“I am not the least bit surprised,” he replied, immediately picking up on your reference. He looked at the kitten. “Well, what do you think about that little one?”

“Mew?”

“Your name,” you told her, “Buttercup, do you like it?”

“Mew, mew.” She forgot about the scarf and crawled into your lap, kneading you with her paws.

“I think she likes it.” You threw Frederick a smile.

“Yes, I quite think she does. I have an idea, how about a story? Would you like that Buttercup?”

“Mew.” She replied with a yawn,

“Darling, if you check your bag, I believe you’ll find a book there.”

You checked your purse, and sure enough, in the largest section was a children’s book, one that you instantly recognized from your own childhood.

“If You Give A Mouse A Cookie?”

“It came highly recommended by the lady at the bookstore.”

“It’s perfect, Frederick.” You handed him the book and leaned your head against his knee. As he began to read, Buttercup curled up in your lap and shut her eyes, she was soon fast asleep, purring away. When he finished reading, Frederick caressed your cheek with hand to get your attention.

“So, shall we go find Joanne and make it official?”

“Yes,” you replied, gazing down at Buttercup, “If we don’t take her home today, I think I’ll cry.”

“Then let’s go fill out the paperwork and bring her home.”

[luke-patterson-owns-my-soul]

Kiss Me

Charlie Gillespie x Reader

Title: Kiss Me

Words: 1593

Summary: Charlie’s back from Hawaii and providing social media with all the content.

Requested: No. I had to write this after that video of Charlie singing in the bath tub…

TW: Implications of sexual intercourse, mostly the reader getting frustrated by Charlie being Charlie.

Author’s notes: I just wanted to write a bit of domesticity between Charlie and the reader, and thanks to all the content we got from him the other day, this kinda just fell into place. I hope you like it. - also, a little shout out to @dream-a-little-bigger-x​ because she’s been giving us some AMAZING fic content, and she isn’t feeling to great today. I hope this helps a little, Nele.

Three weeks without being able to see Charlie in the flesh had been hard. Yeah, he’d posted photos and videos while he’d been away in Hawaii with his castmates and Kenny, but it wasn’t the same. Neither were the intimate FaceTime calls the two of you shared pretty much daily. Nothing beat being able to wrap your arms around him, to feel the warmth of his skin against yours, to smell the scent that was intrinsically him. Yeah, you’d missed him like crazy.

Checking your watch, again, before checking the arrivals board you leaned up against the wall behind you waiting for his flight to disembark the plane and make their way through to the arrivals lounge. You scrolled through your Instagram feed, checking out what people had been tagging your boyfriend in, amazed by the talent of his fans. More than anything, you wanted to share them, but as no one knew about you, you couldn’t. It was a good thing you ran a semi-popular fan account that you could do it all from, and your story was full of amazing artwork and song covers. As far as your followers knew, you were just another fangirl.

You were so engrossed in the pictures on the screen in front of you, you didn’t hear Charlie approaching you, didn’t know he was right in front of you until grabbed you by the waist, making you squeal in shock and almost drop your phone.

“Oh my God, Charlie. You scared me.” You laughed, flinging your arms around his neck, breathing him in. 

“I would say I’m sorry, but my mom taught me that lying makes my nose grow and my tongue fall out. And I don’t think you’d want that.” He teased after placing a quick kiss on your lips.

“Well, no. But it would be quieter around the apartment.” Your response made him pull away and pout. “What? Am I lying?”

“I thought you loved me.” If he hadn’t been grinning like the loveable idiot he was, you would have believed his offended tone of voice was real.

“Oh, you know I adore you. Shall we go home?” as you slide your phone into your pocket, you take hold of his hand and lead him out to the parking lot where his car is parked. “Do you want to drive, or shall I?”

“You, please.” You know he’s not the most confident of flyers, so you understand his need to chill for a while before he’s at full Gillespie �� a term you coined not long after the two of you met and he was his usual ‘constant overdrive’ self. He was always moving, doing something with his hands, or exploring. Charlie Gillespie didn’t do bored or sitting still very well.

Once you’re back at the apartment you share Charlie sets about unpacking his case, dumping his clothes in the washer straight away. It always strikes you how domestic he is. You’re not the best at remembering to do stuff, but he always manages to catch what you miss.

“Have you got to go to work?” he asks you as he leans up against the counter while you prepare some food for the two of you. You work at a TV studio, but the show you work on is on a break so your hours are more flexible than they would be normally.

“No, I’m all yours for a couple of days.” Your words make him grin before he wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you in for a kiss.

Your kiss had led to more of an intimate reunion which led you both to your bedroom for most of the day. By the time you emerged, it was almost dark outside and the food you’d been preparing needed to be tossed in the trash. You couldn’t complain though because you’d been able to show Charlie just how much you’d missed him.

___________________________

After the insanity that was Charlie’s delivery from and subsequent live with Madison’s dad, you now had a billboard poster partially unfolded in your bedroom. Naturally, because he was often a child in an adult’s body, Charlie had been like a kid at Christmas when he’d been allowed to open the box. Off camera, he’d been able to slide the parcel that had been included with your name on – Mr. Reyes had so kindly included a hoodie for you which you were now wearing while you stared at the space around you in horror.

“Charlie, babe. Did you have to open it in here? You heard what he said, it took up their entire back yard. Our bedroom is like a shoebox.”

“Yeah, I kinda got carried away. Sorry.” Leaning over, so he wouldn’t rip the poster, he planted a kiss on your lips.

“Well, don’t expect me to help you fold it back up.” With a grin, you turned on your heel and flounced out of the room to post screenshots from the live to your fan account. Only Charlie knew about it and had followed you early on. Eventually, after hearing him swearing and falling over, you went in and helped him fold the damn thing up. It took a ridiculous amount of time, but it was soon back in the box ready to be transported to Canada in Charlie’s car when the both of you went back for Christmas.

Exhausted, you flopped onto the couch and decided to order in some food rather than cook. But first, you took a sweaty selfie and sent it to Madison.

I love your dad, but please don’t let him send us anymore billboard posters. It took two hours to get it back in the damn box.

Her reply was instant.

Dad never expected him to unfold the thing. Love to you both. She wasn’t wrong. Only the man you adored would have ever done that, and live on the internet too. Shaking your head, you ordered pizza.

“Babe, I need a favor.” Charlie spoke as he tidied up the pizza boxes and soda cans from your dinner, making you groan. You were still exhausted, and now a little bloated. All you wanted to do was to slouch and watch a movie, curled up in Charlie’s arms.

“What?”

“Help me set up my phone in the bathroom.” That got your attention.

“Er… why?”

He scratched at the back of his head, a sheepish look on his beautiful face that was covered in the stubble you adored.

“I want to do a couple of videos.”

“And you have to do it now? Haven’t you done enough today?” you close your eyes as you lean your head on the back of the couch. You sense Charlie standing behind you, and when you open your eyes again, he’s looking down at you, the puppy dog eyes in force. Even upside down, he knows what they do to you. “I hate you, did you know that?” you tell him affectionately. With a grin, he bends over and captures your lips in a searing kiss.

“I promise, I’ll make it up to you.” With a chuckle, he runs his jaw along yours, knowing the roughness of his stubble is a huge turn on for you.

“Yes, yes you will.” You pull away and stand up. The sooner you get this done, the sooner the two of you can snuggle, and the sooner you can claim your owed favor.

Grabbing the car keys from the sideboard, you head down to the car to get the phone holder. You figure the suction cup works on the car’s windscreen, so should work on the glass screen. When you get back into the apartment, Charlie’s changed clothes and has his guitar in his hand.

“Remind me why you can’t do this from the couch?” you ask, walking into the bathroom. It’s tiny and you know Charlie’s going to regret his decision, but when he mumbles about acoustics you keep your mouth shut. Trying to change his mind when it’s made up is nigh on impossible.

You manage to secure the phone holder to the shower screen you’d cleaned that morning, pull it across the tub, and leave the small space.

“All ready for you, maestro.” You call out as you enter the lounge. Charlie stands up, kisses you and disappears into the bathroom. You fully plan on putting the TV on, choosing a random Hallmark Christmas movie to watch, and wait for him to finish, but when you hear his clear voice singing what he knows is one of your favorite Ed Sheeran songs, you can help but go and stand at the end of the tub and watch him morph from Charlie your doofus boyfriend to Charlie the star.

You watch him, with a smile on your face, as he records a video for his Instagram reel, messing it up a couple of times and having to restart a few times, making you laugh.

“If you can’t be quiet, you’re gonna have to leave.” He scolds you without any anger in his voice.

“I’ll behave. For now.” You wink at him as he starts to record again. Once he’s done, he says he wants to do one more, slightly longer for his Tiktok account.

“Last try, because my leg’s falling asleep.” He speaks into the camera once it’s recording.

I’m in love now

Kiss me like you wanna be loved

Wanna be loved, wanna be loved,

Wanna be loved, yeah

As he sings, he looks up, catching your eye and smiling. In that moment, you fall in love with him all over again.

.

.

.

.

.

Taglist: - if you want to be added, please send me an ask, just in case I happen to miss any comments

@dream-a-little-bigger-x​​ @calamitykaty​​ @crybabyddl​​ @xplrreylo​​ @morganayennefertyrell​​ @lovesanimals​​ @sunsetcurvenotsunsetswerve​​ @echocharm17618​​ @kinda-really-lost​ @n0wornever​ @all-in-fangirl​ @5sosmukefan​

[stonecoldsilly]

Thirty Days of Transience

Read on Ao3

The echoes of the song fade away from the valley, and Geralt sighs.

‘Look, bard, as fun as this was, and really, it was a fucking riot, are you going to fuck off at all?’

The boy blinks up at him and grins.

‘Nope,’ he says, popping his lips obnoxiously.

Geralt didn’t really think it was going to be that easy, but a sinking feeling descends upon him anyway.

‘What do you mean, no?’

‘This was a very successful first outing. You make a fantastic muse, truly you do. Already I can almost hear the applause we shall receive on our triumphant return!’

First outing, thinks Geralt, and outright panics. Fuck that.

He spurs Roach into a canter, and leaves the boy behind in the dust, hooting and hollering after him.

Evening falls. His camp is set up some ways into the woods, and he has a fat little hare on the spit. Roach is snuffling away in her nosebag happily, and Geralt is just settling down to note down the details of the incident in his bestiary when his ears prick up. A heartbeat, human, about half a mile off, and dreadfully familiar…

‘You have got to be kidding me.’ He groans aloud, and Roach sympathises. ‘He’s persistent, I’ll give him that.’ She waves her tail in his direction meaningfully, and Geralt waits. He is not going to dismantle his entire camp and flee from one little human, he is not…

The boy stumbles through the bracken towards the light of the campfire eventually, making enough racket to alert predators for miles around, and squinting directly into the light, ruining his admittedly already limited night vision completely. Idiot.

‘Ah, hello, Geralt. Come here often?’ He grins, and sets his lute down carefully, before slumping on the nearest log with a sigh.

Geralt just stares at him. That turns out to be a mistake, because the bard takes it as an opportunity to start talking.

‘Not that I didn’t appreciate the view, the mighty Witcher and his steed riding into the sunset, but really, that was downright indecorous of you, heading off without even a farewell.’

Geralt can’t quite believe this little pipsqueak is trying to scold him about his manners. His heartrate is steady, he’s not sweating with fear, he just looks up at Geralt sternly.

Geralt snaps his head around to look at him, letting his pupils dilate fully. He bares his teeth, sharp canines glinting in the firelight, and growls, ‘What are you doing here, bard?’

The boy just looks at him, placid as anything. Not even a tinge of fear.

‘You saved my life.’ He says, solemnly. ‘I certainly didn’t do anything to persuade Filavandrel otherwise, you did.’

Geralt frowns at him, and the bard cracks a little smile.

‘And if the, er, forgive me, if the so-called ‘Meat-Purveyor of Certain Unnamed Market Towns’, if you will, can talk down the quite justly furious Filavandrel, then it makes me start to question certain common beliefs, as it were.’

He just stares, and the boy unpacks his new lute carefully, angling it up to the firelight and admiring the finish.

‘I am what they call me.’ Geralt manages, after several minutes.

‘And what things they call you.’ The boy says, glancing at him briefly. Their eyes only meet for a moment, but still Geralt feels pinned by it.

He goes on the defensive.

‘It makes no difference to me what they call me. I neither need nor want a barker.’

‘Allow me to try.’

‘No.’ He says flatly.

The boy sighs, and sets the lute down gingerly, before swivelling to face him and resting his elbows on his knees.

‘Look, Geralt, at this point what on earth have you possibly got to lose? If you would simply let me at least make the attempt…’

Geralt grits his teeth and glares at him.

‘You could die. You nearly died once today already, you said so yourself. And then I get whoever your people are, swearing vengeance on me, and making things worse. This life is not safe.’

‘I could die tomorrow, of an apoplexy, or at the end of some bandit’s sword. No life is safe.’

‘You would only get in the way.’ Geralt tries.

‘I promise. I only mean to be a help, truly, not a hindrance.’

‘You don’t even have any supplies. No pack, no bedroll, no food. I am not babysitting you.’

The boy winks at him, and shoves his arm down into his trousers quickly, before revealing a handful of rather battered looking bread rolls.

Geralt blinks at him.

‘Told you I had bread in my pants.’ He says, and winks. Geralt almost cracks then, and he can feel a smile trying to form before he schools his expression.

‘Come on, Geralt, let me try. I owe you my life, and I put no little stock in that. It’s the only one I shall have, and I’m rather pleased with it so far. Give me a chance, and I can make things easier for you. For your kind. Change the bastards’ minds, prove them all wrong. Come on.’

Geralt considers this carefully, and pokes at the hare a bit with his stick.

The bard waits, seemingly content to let Geralt respond at his own pace.

‘What’s in it for you?’ He asks, genuinely puzzled.

‘Inspiration. Protection. An education in the wilder side of living, as it were.’

Geralt snorts.

‘Think of it as a business transaction, if you prefer. An equal exchange. In return for graciously allowing me to witness your talents at work, I will provide companionship, assistance, and an improved reputation.’

Gods help him, but the boy is persuasive.

‘I don’t need companionship. I’ve managed this long just fine without assistance…’ He sighs. ‘But I’ll concede on the last point.’

The bard grins like a fox.

‘Give me a year.’

‘A year?’ Geralt splutters. ‘A week would be too long. You escaped the King of the Elves today bard, isn’t that enough inspiration to be getting on with?’

‘I do not intend to let Destiny slip through my fingers.’ He says, smiling faintly. ‘Who knows what foes you will face next? I would not miss a one. A year, if you please.’

‘A week.’

‘My, you are an accomplished haggler aren’t you. Far more practiced than I, of course. However, and you must concede the point here my dear Witcher, I must admit, even I cannot charm an entire Continent into submission in a week, although I do appreciate the flattery. A month, to ply my trade, and prove myself a worthy travel companion, and if you are not satisfied thirty days hence, then we shall part as strangers once more.’

Geralt leans forward himself then and wags his stick in the boy’s direction.

‘You cannot get in the way.’

He plasters a very convincingly serious expression on his face, but his eyes are dancing with barely repressed glee.

‘I swear it.’

‘You have to do as I say.’

‘Within reason. But I will concede to your expertise.’

‘If I say run, you run. If I say hide, you hide. If I say, bard, fetch me three strands of white Holly and two hedgehog quills, what do you do?’

‘Speaking honestly, I’d probably say ‘Geralt, what the fuck, how am I supposed to know what white holly is?’, but I appreciate the sentiment. Complete obedience, within reason, at your disposal.’

‘Hmm.’ Geralt says.

The boy’s leg betrays his eagerness, bouncing nervously even as he watches Geralt’s face with an innocent expression.

‘Fine. You have your month.’ He says, regretting it already.

‘Yes! You won’t regret this Geralt, really you won’t.’ He jumps to his feet and steps closer, smiling.

‘Shake on it.’ He says, commandingly, and Geralt just huffs, but reaches up anyway. ‘Gloves off Geralt, for goodness sake, let’s be civil.’

He peels off his leathers, outright baffled by this bright little human, bossing him about as if Geralt couldn’t snap him in half easily as breathing. The boy takes his bare hand in a surprisingly firm grip, and shakes it sincerely, as if he were any other man, as if his word meant anything to humans, as if he genuinely doesn’t believe the tales.

This whole day has been full of marvels.

The boy grins at him again, radiating only a fresh-apple scent that is surprisingly pleasant. It bodes well in a travel companion. For a half a second, he dares to be vaguely optimistic, until the bard opens his mouth again.

‘Now that the business talk is dealt with, care to share your hare?’

He snickers at his own joke, and Geralt sighs, but divvies it up into two portions anyway. The boy throws him a bread roll in exchange, and they eat in peace and quiet on opposite sides of the little fire until he clears his throat again.

‘About the er, sleeping arrangements. Not to be indelicate Geralt, but I, er, haven’t any.’

Geralt swallows around his suddenly rather dry mouthful of hare, and blinks rather owlishly at the boy, uncertain as to what he’s asking.

‘See, I know we only met this morning, but I’m rather fond of you already. And as business partners, I feel we have already managed to jump the hurdle of strangers getting to know one another, and gone headfirst into the hitherto unexplored territory of acquaintances.’

Geralt just sits, taken aback, and mouths business partners to himself. He ignores the ‘rather fond’ part for fear of his own sanity, never mind the bard’s.

‘Without beating around the bush, as it were, after one’s newfound acquaintance saves one’s life, it becomes very difficult to believe that one’s er, virtue is imperiled by said acquaintance.’

Geralt nearly chokes.

‘What.’ He wheezes.

‘Well I just thought, it’s a rather chilly evening, and perhaps, if it wouldn’t inconvenience you awfully, if you wouldn’t mind possibly adjusting your usual nightly routine to accommodate myself?’

‘What?’

The boy sighs, gesturing grandly.

‘Geralt, to put it plainly, I am cold. I have no bedroll in my possession. I should like, in short, to share your bedroll, under the proviso that no hanky-panky take place without prior permission from both parties.’

‘Hanky-panky?’ He repeats, helplessly. The boy is pretty, and well-formed, but Geralt honestly hadn’t even thought as far ahead as hanky, let alone panky.

‘I will require another handshake.’ The boy says, meeting his gaze firmly.

‘I can sleep on the ground.’ He says quickly.

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ The boy says primly. ‘The entire concept of my presence at your side is to be a help, not a hindrance. And you need to be in top shape, I’d have thought, with all those beasties to fight, eh?’

‘I can stand guard.’

‘I’m not having you loom over me all night, that hardly sounds conducive to a good night’s sleep.’

Geralt looks about the campsite wildly, searching for the last scraps of reason.

‘I..’

‘Come on Geralt, some of us have walked bloody miles today, shake on it, there’s a good chap, then we can settle in for the evening.’

He stares, bewildered, as the boy takes his hand again in his own warm little grasp and they shake once more.

Half an hour later, the fire is banked for the night, Roach has settled into sleep, and Geralt has a softly snoring musician wrapped around him firmly, legs entangled with his own.

Without a doubt, one of the strangest days of his life, even for a Witcher.

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EDIT: Chapter Two now up!

[cosmiclatte28]

Midnight Live (Baekhyun x you)

Okay so Baekhyun just did an Insta Live, and I realized it’s like around 1 am in Korea when he did that or like 00.00 am... I’m not sure.. but I made this in 30 minutes before my class.. hope this is quiet good for a bedtime story

enjoy!!

The night is getting colder and the wind is also blowing harder. You shudder and tighten your jacket as you climb up the stairs to leave the crowded MRT station. After tapping your card to the automatic gate, you follow the crowd to exit the station. Station is closing in an hour and the last trains have arrived too. You catch a glimpse of a pre-heated meal and your stomach grumbles. To ear or not to eat that is the question, you stop in front of the small Seven-Eleven kiosk that is closing down. "Young lady are you going to buy anything?" the old lady asks when she sees you stunned in front of the meal part. You nod and quickly take some of the foods looking appetizing to you. With two cans of beer and some meals, you pay her and leave the station. The lady closes the mini mart after your purchase and you gladly make your way home. The apartment is close enough to the station, just a five minutes walk and the district is safe. You glance at your watch, it's almost midnight. Well you were staying late for work and your sister called you to accompany her bring her kid to the doctor. Your nephew got a cold and your sister's husband is on a business trip. You type in the six digit combination password and smile when the door opens and the smell of home greets you. There's no other shoes nor signs of your boyfriend home. He seems to be busy with the Japanese album he is preparing. Quietly you lock the door, drop your belongings on the small table by the door and quickly you munch the warm steamed bun you bought. You almost cry from the feeling of having the first bite of meal after a tiring day. After filling up a bit with the bun, you make yourself to the bathroom. There, you take a quick warm shower and appear back to the big living room in your comfortable warm sweater and long pants. You turn the TV on for some background noises, and while humming to a song, you unpack the late night dinner you bought. Two box of bento and a sandwich, just in case your man is hungry. You know he is coming home tonight, he sent you a message earlier telling you he'll be super late. You know it's his job to practice, he's Byun Baekhyun after all. You gladly pick up the chopsticks and start eating the meal and your phone's notification lights up. "@baekhyunee_exo is going live"

You nod your head while chomping down the food, "Interesting," you click the notification and your screen shows your man in his car by himself, driving through the cold late night and singing to songs. You laugh knowing it's super him, having an Instagram Live in the middle of the night or shall we say early morning? It's almost 1 am when he started the live. He always put the camera to face him, but he's focused on the road. The darkness did not shadow his voice, you can clearly hear him singing to the songs he play on his car and that's enough to make you turn the TV off and pump your phone's volume louder. You enjoy the dinner with your man's voice accompanying you. The street lights sometimes enlighten his face and that is enough for the comment to go wild and you feel a warm feeling in your heart when you see how much fans love him. You don't want to think about the day when he will announce you to the public, but you believe time and moment will play their role. You scroll through the fans' comments and actually realize how sweet majority of them are. Baekhyun yawns several time on the screen and you wish he's not that sleepy. It's dangerous to drive when you're sleepy. You want to call him and talk with him so he is not sleepy on the road, but seeing that he is On Air now, you don't want to disturb his precious time with Aeris. You just text him a quick "I'm waiting for you, drive safe." and you think he sees the pop up message coz he looks into the camera and smile for a bit. You actually know he is already on the parking lot when he changed his angle. He brings the camera to his face, and you know he's no longer driving. You wait though, for him to wrap up the Live. Your phone is no longer tuning into his Instagram live, it runs out of battery. Standing up, you walk to grab your charger and when you're back. Your tired but handsome boyfriend grins behind the door. "Hey you're home!" You bee line to him and hug him tight. Baekhyun inhales your scent and hugs you back, he feels home right now. "Yes I am homed, why are you still awake?" he asks while ushering you to the only lit room, the dining room. Baekhyun licks his lips, "Yah you're having dinner now? Why did you eat so late?" You roll your eyes, "I took extra hours in the office and when I want to go home, eonnie called me and asked to accompany her bring Scarlet to the doctor. She's a bit under the weather." Baekhyun washes his hands and sits on the empty chair, his hand reaches out for the other bento you bought. "I assume this is mine," he grins and you just nod your head. You've finished yours and if Baekhyun is starving, he should eat. Health comes first in this house. "Thank you. I am hungry." he snaps his chopsticks and digs in to his food. "So how is it?" He looks up to you, "Oh? My prep? It's good." He continues chewing his foods. You shake your head, "No, I mean you met Aeris right." He pauses his mouth work, "Oh you saw it?" You nod your head, "Yep I tuned in for a while until I sent you the message." He wipes his mouth, 'Oh yeah, I saw your text. Sorry can't reply it." You nod understanding him, "I know, it's okay." "Yeah it was good meeting them. I mean seeing them again and just driving back home knowing I am not alone." "Well you can always call me." you play with your fingers. Baekhyun leans in to rub your hair, "I know, I thought you were asleep. Your work is tough and I don't want you to fall sick from lack of sleep." You smile, "You too need some rest Baek," He nods his head, "Tomorrow I am free, that is why I was finishing it today until dawn." You shake your head, "It's not good, but you won't hear me. So... why don't we go to bed now? It's almost three and I need to wake up early tomorrow." "I'll shower and join you soon." He kisses your forehead and cleans up the table. You then climb to the big bed and wait for Baekhyun to come inside the blanket and hugs you tight. "Good night Baekkie, I love you." He hums back, "Night (y/n), I love you most."

 endddd wohoo slow night drive with Baekhyun along with his live singing.. is pure healing

[jtrokujo]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐀𝐆

paring: Fumikage Tokoyami x fem!Reader

word count: 1.8k

warnings: none

gerne: fluff, romance

summary: Today should be a pleasant day as planned, you go to school, hang out with friends and do silly things with friends in the dormitory. However, since she was getting her period, she had to put all of that aside and spend her day alone in her room, so that's the way it was meant to be.

—

In a bad mood, the UA student clutched the covers and waited obsessively for the pain to stop.

Like any young woman, she had her period this morning unhappily so the pain prevented her from sleeping, but she planned to go on a date with her boyfriend right after school.

When the couple in love go for a walk through the city, eat various street foods, buy new clothes, and probably also new games in which they can play together and still see the sunset in a high mountain.

It's nothing special, but that Tokoyami has prepared everything gives her a guilty conscience.

Out of shame and hatred, she wrote her boyfriend that she unfortunately has to cancel the date, the pain will certainly go away, but it is clear that it would come.

After a few minutes someone knocked on the door, in a morning voice she said that the door is open and no one other than Tokoyami came, but not alone but with his classmates like, Deku, Denki, Ochako, Momo and Jirou.

Confused, she looked at her friends and waited for someone to say something, but instead of saying something, Denki threw himself on his good friend's bed and sighed that he would sleep too and made himself comfortable.

Deku and the others gave their friend something sweet to nibble on and, as they say among friends, wished them a speedy recovery.

Tokoyami stayed with his girlfriend a little longer to make sure that she is no worse than before.

He gently put his hand on her forehead, causing her to sigh softly and finally apologize, "I'm sorry. You have so much planned for today's date and what came ... my rules, but we could do it anyway, right?" "

"As long as you're not doing well, I don't want to risk anything. Besides, we could do a film marathon today, that sounds good, doesn't it?"

She nodded in agreement and closed her eyes and last heard how the door was slammed before she set off into her dream world.

TIME SKIP

After school, the boyfriend, in contrast to his classmates, made his way to the dormitory, but made his way to town so that he could buy small treats for himself and his girlfriend.

Unaccompanied, he went through the various shelves and took the snacks he thought his girlfriend would like.

When he got to the cash register, he put the purchases on the belt and waited for his cell phone to ring.

It was none other than (Y / N), he quickly accepted and ran through the city until he stuck out in front of a game store "Where are you?" immediately asked the friend.

She sounded tired, it could probably be that she just got up. "I'll probably be there in half an hour. Besides, I'm in town, are you feeling a little better?"

When Tokoyami asked his question, he walked in and saw the tons of games for Ps4 / 5, xBox but also Nintendo.

"Well, I've already felt better, but tell me what are you doing in town, it's raining all the time. You could catch a cold." worried the young friend and saw a series on her television screen that she doesn't even know.

"(Y / N)."

"Yes?"

"You sound like a mother, you don't need to say yourself, ok? If I am on my way, I will let you know or we could talk the whole time, but I have to do something important now. See you .”

"And?" asked Mina and ate what actually belonged to her friend.

Sighing, she gave in and said, mumbling, "He said he had something 'important to do' and was coming later."

"Understand."

TIME SKIP

A few hours have passed when Tokoyami finally enters the dormitory.

Some students were in the entrance and greeted him immediately, Denki approached Tokoyami and asked him if they wanted to spend the night with a series marathon, but he had to cancel so reluctantly, but why?

Because his girlfriend is not doing very well first thing in the morning, he thought that he could spend this time playing video games with her and probably watching one or the other film before that.

Tokoyami explained to Denki why he can't today, he nodded understandably and said that dinner was ready.

"I'll be there in 5 minutes." he sighs and made his way to his girlfriend.

Immediately after he knocked on his girlfriend's door about 3 times, it was opened immediately, but not by his girlfriend.

"Hello, Tokoyami." Mina pleased me and immediately turned to (Y / N) who finally got up from her bed.

"Tokoyami." she said and ran up to him, but when she wanted to hug him he immediately held a bag between the gap and said "You can see what's in there after dinner."

Lovely.

Confused, Mina Tokoyami stared and felt uncomfortable between the atmosphere of the two, so she clapped her hands together and said with glee "Ok, let's eat then, don't you think?"

In the dining room everyone talked to everyone, while (Y / N) sat between Momo and Tsu and talked to them, Tokoyami sat between Shoto and Iida, who were extremely quiet.

Sometimes she forgets herself that she is also here in the dining room.

"Hey, (Y / N)!" came the voice from across the room.

(Y / N) immediately stopped eating and looked in the direction where it was coming from, Kirishima.

"Is something? Do you need something?" she asked him immediately, but he didn't look like he wanted anything.

"No, I don't need anything, but thanks for asking. I mainly just wanted to know if you're feeling a little better?" he giggled and scratched his neck.

"Oh, thank you, I'm much better now."

Without a question, everyone continued with what they left off.

Today it was (Y / N) washing up, Ochako actually wanted to do it, but (Y / N) assured her friend that she didn't have to worry about anything and that she could go to her room.

Still, someone stayed by her side and it was none other than Tokoyami.

Of course he knows his girlfriend and knows that it is more of a challenge to have to persuade her to do something.

After several attempts, he finally gave in and helped her rather than persuading her to let him do the chores.

So while (Y / N) is doing the dishes, Tokoyami dries the cleaned dishes.

The only thing I was listening to in the room was the running water, rubbing the sponge and dishes and also rubbing through the dry cloth and the still wet dishes.

The friend sighed bored and finally turned the tap on, she turned her gaze to her boyfriend, who, however, seemed to be very busy drying off.

After Tokoyami was finished, he turned around and saw his girlfriend sitting on a chair, but she was staring bored at her screen and obviously didn't notice that her boyfriend was staring at her.

"(Y / N), are we going?"

Immediately she switched her cell phone to mute and got up from her chair and asked him "Are we going to my or your room?"

"I prefer your room." he said, because, unlike his room, it doesn't look as dark as his girlfriend's.

Once in the room, Tokoyami (Y / N) asked to sit down on her bed and be patient so that he would come back in about 5 minutes.

However, it appeared again in 3 minutes, albeit with a huge bag, if she had noticed it before, she doesn't think so.

"What is it, Tokoyami?" she wondered, getting up from her bed.

"Lie down again and I'll show you."

(Y / N) sat down giggling, because she doesn't get this side of Tokoyami in her face every day until she finally remembered something, the little bag.

Surprised, she asked Tokoyami what was there and pointed in the direction of where the little bag was.

He looked in this direction and got up with a sigh, sitting on her bed he asked which bag she would like to start with.

Thinking about it, (Y / N) first decided on the small bag.

When Tokoyami handed it to his girlfriend, he didn't know what to do himself, should he look at her unpacking, should he rather start a conversation with her, should he turn on the television or shouldn't he do it at all and stare at the floor?

The best was very promising for him, which is why he opted for this variant and stared at the floor while his girlfriend unwrapped the small gift.

It was a bracelet that was sealed under silver and on top of that his name.

Slightly wounded and yet shy, she looked at her friend, who stuck his left arm out.

He was wearing the same bracelet - which of course was engraved with his girlfriend's name.

"Tokoyami, I don't know what to say about that, except thank you."

In a warm hug, Tokoyami felt the warmth that (Y / N) carries within him, and he felt his girlfriend's heartbeat beating more and more against his body from second to second.

Tokoyami patted his girlfriend's back nervously and unsuspectingly until he breaks the hug in a few minutes and shows the big bag in front of her nose and says "You haven't opened this yet."

After several minutes, with the couple busy talking and opening the presents, the convulsions came at an inopportune moment.

Groaning from the pain, (Y / N) narrowed her eyes and asked her friend if he would really like to get a hot water bottle.

Nodding, he was already on his way and came straight back into the room, when Tokoyami (Y / N) handed over the hot water bottle, he put his somewhat announced hand on her forehead and noticed that she might have a fever.

"(Y / N), shall I-" shortly afterwards (Y / N) Tokoyami interrupted him to be able to spend the night with her.

"Is it okay if we play video games tomorrow? I'm not doing so well right now." apologized (Y / N) for what she can't and took Tokyami's hand and squeezed it a little tighter than before.

"You don't have to apologize for that, (Y / N). We can also play together another time, because as long as you're not feeling well, I'll stay by your side."

"Tokoyami."

"Yes?"

"Since when have you been different?"

"I wonder about that too." Dark Shadow's voice came out of nowhere.

[wlntrsldler]

unrequited (draco malfoy/ cedric diggory series)

PROMPT: You and Cedric grew up together. After the tragedy of the Triwizard Tournament, you’re left feeling empty without your best friend. Draco Malfoy steps into the picture. Will the feelings be reciprocated? Or will it be unrequited?

WARNINGS: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, angst, fluff, sadness???

PAIRING: draco malfoy x reader and cedric diggory x reader; hufflepuff reader

WC: 2.2K+

UNREQUITED MASTERLIST

UNREQUITED PLAYLISTS (SEND ME SONGS!)

-

PART 15

To say Fred and George were furious when you stumbled into Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes that summer, falling apart completely in their arms as you told them about Draco, would be downplaying it. You physically had to hold Fred back from marching down to Malfoy Manor himself to kill Draco. Once he saw your pleading face, broken and a bit relieved that you finally had someone to talk to about what happened, he knew you needed to be with him and George above anything else. 

“I knew I should’ve put a dungbomb in his room before we left,” George muttered, still holding you sandwiched between him and Fred. “That little piece of shit.”

“I’m just glad I have you guys around to talk to about this,” you sniffled, wiping your tears away with the sleeve of your jumper. “I miss you guys.” 

“We miss you too, you know,” Fred replied, kissing your head. “But now you get to spend the summer with us. Are you still alright with helping us out with the shop’s grand opening this summer?”

“‘Course,” you smiled, pulling away from them. “It’s the only thing that kept me going the last few months of school.” 

“Well, if that’s so, let’s get started!” George held your hand and pulled you all around the shop, Fred trailing behind the two of you as he showed you around their masterpiece. You were taken back by how amazing everything looked. You knew they were going to be successful but this exceeded all of your expectations and theirs. They really outdid themselves. It was their dream and more. 

After two hours of walking around the shop and them proudly showing off their new products, as well as showing you the prototypes for unreleased items in their stockroom, they led you up to their flat above the store. The space was still a bit empty, a few boxes here and there, since they haven’t finished unpacking everything. Mrs. Weasley was still in the process of sending off the items they left back in the Burrow. 

They sat down on the larger couch, motioning for you to sit across from them. You sat, taking in the environment. On the walls were pictures of the Weasley family hung proudly, lining the hallways that lead to their respective rooms. A picture of the three of you was placed by the bookshelf, one that was taken the day before they left Hogwarts. 

“What else have we missed since we left, Y/N?” Fred asked, leaning forward in interest. “Surely, things have been quite boring since we left the premises.” 

You chuckled, nodding, “You know life is never as great without the two of you around.”

“Good answer,” George hummed, taking a sip from his glass of water. “But other than you know… the other he who shall not be named, how are you?” 

You pondered the question a bit; You didn’t want to worry them. You’ve been miserable, to be honest. After the twins left, you felt a bit like an outsider. You still had friends, like the Trio and a few others like Neville, Dean and Seamus, but they already had their established friendships. It didn’t feel right to always intrude in their lives. The twins were the only ones who truly made you feel comfortable after Cedric’s death. And of course things were a bit better when Draco was in the picture, but now, that’s not really the case anymore. 

You knew Fred and George enough to know that if you were to tell them this, they’d feel like rubbish and would blame themselves for all of these misfortunes in your life. That’s the last thing you wanted. You knew this shop, Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, was their dream and they were here, fulfilling it. You didn’t want them to have apprehensions on their decision. 

You smiled, “I’ve been better but it’s nothing I can’t handle.” 

“That’s our girl.” Fred chirped, a genuine smile on his face. He studied your features for a minute, taking in the way you bit back your tongue. He let it slide, sitting up straighter to change the subject. “Mr. Diggory stopped by a few days ago.” 

You cocked your head to the side, “What did he need?”

“Just wanted to say thank you to us for keeping Cedric’s grave relatively neat,” George explained. “Since we left school, we’ve had more time to visit him so we just dust off here and there.” 

Tears pricked your eyes, thinking of the two boys coming over to talk to Cedric. You imagined them tossing old bouquets of flowers that have wilted or died in the extreme weather and replacing them with new ones. You looked up at them, lip quivering, “Thank you.” 

“He was a good friend,” Fred said.

George continued, “To all of us. Never did he ever act like he was better than anyone.”

“Even when it was obvious that he was.”

You chuckled, wiping the tears slipping from your eyes. You nodded in agreement, remembering how humble Cedric always was. Even as a young boy who excelled in just about everything, he never once boasted about it. He just laughed all the praise off and helped out any students who seemed to be struggling. When he became Prefect, you celebrated with him but he just brushed off this achievement by saying he couldn’t wait until you became one too. 

“You know, he never got us in trouble, that Cedric,” George said, fondly. “One time, I was so sure he was about to tell on us for being out after hours. Caught us red-handed too, didn’t he, Freddie?”

“Indeed, Georgie,” the older twin nodded, “All the evidence was planted on us, ready to incriminate us, and guess what Cedric did?”

“What?” you asked, eyes twinkling at their story. This was a story about Cedric that you haven’t heard before. It was refreshing to hear things about him, instead of reliving the same memories that only left you lonely. 

“He said, “Hurry up boys! I can’t be your look out for any longer!” And Fred and I just grinned at him from ear to ear!” George said, laughing at the memory. “Good bloke, that one.”

“One of the best mates we’ve ever had.” 

“Do you guys mind if we visit him later today?” you wondered, chewing on your bottom lip when you realized how long it’s been since you last went to see him. You still read his journal everyday, but there was something different about being there. 

“Of course, not.” They replied in unison, both leaning over to place a comforting hand on your knee, “Let us know when.” 

-

You walked closer to the familiar stone, smiling when you saw a familiar bouquet of purple, gold, and white flowers still sitting by it. You leaned over to it, picking it up and admired how it still looked the same as you last left it. 

“Yeah, this one never wilted,” Fred said from behind you, his hands in his pockets. 

George stood beside him, motioning to the bouquet in your hands, “We don’t know why.” 

“I enchanted it so it would stay alive until I come back,” you stated, watching the petals slowly wilt and fall off the stem. You watched as it fell apart in your palms, soon becoming nothing else but a pile of dead leaves. “I left it here last time I came to visit him.” 

“What was it?” 

“Hyacinth, marigold, and petunia,” you replied, blowing away the particles left in your palm. You looked back at the two boys, further explaining it, “They’re muggle plants. During the Triwizard competition, Neville and I spent some good hours together. The boy is in love with herbology. I took a liking to it too because of him, and it followed me through my time with my aunt in the muggle world. I fell in love with their plants too.” 

“Do they mean anything?” 

“Yes,” you waved your wand, pointing it by the stone that had the carving of Cedric’s name. Soon, a full bloom of flowers emerged and took the place of the ones that wilted. “Purple hyacinths mean sorrow, an apology. Marigold is the flower of grief and petunias represent anger, resentment, and that their presence soothes you. It’s an odd combination, I know, but it captured everything that I was feeling last time I was here.” 

“I think it’s beautiful.” George spoke up, smiling at you. “Does the new bouquet have a meaning too?”

“Ambrosia, Orange Blossom and Camellia,” you started, now sitting down on the grass in front of his tombstone. “Ambrosia means your love is reciprocated. Orange Blossoms stand for eternal love and Camellia means longing.” 

Fred walked over to you, placing a hand on your shoulder. He leaned down to kiss your cheek, whispering in your ear, “We’ll give you some privacy.” 

You nodded, still unable to remove your gaze from Cedric’s name. You heard their footsteps lightly crunching the grass they stepped on. You leaned over, touching the buds of the flowers, already in full bloom. You spoke, “You hear that, Ced? Your love is reciprocated.” 

You were met with silence, as you expected. You lifted one leg up, leaning against your knee as you continued to talk. “You should’ve told me you loved me sooner. I wish you did so I could’ve told you I loved you back. Maybe you would’ve survived, somehow? Maybe if you knew that I was here waiting for you to come back, you wouldn’t have tried so hard to win. I don’t know, Ced. I’m just stuck on wishful thinking right now.” 

“I met someone, I hope you’re not mad,” you whispered, looking down at your lap. “I’m trying really hard to move on. I know this is what you would’ve wanted for me and I tried, Ced. I really did, but it just… It didn’t work out.” 

“Is it possible to be in love with two people at once?” you asked, voice wavering after every word. “I’m in love with you, Ced. I think I always will be, you know? Because for the rest of my life, I’ll just think about what my life would’ve been like if you were still around. We would’ve been perfect. Eternal love. Even after death, I love you.” 

“But all this time, I’ve rejected all of Draco’s affections,” you paused, “Yes, it’s Malfoy. Bit of a shocker, isn’t it? Or maybe it’s not that hard to believe for you. You were more observant than I was anyway.” 

You sighed, “But it’s Draco. I think I’ve known for a while that I was in love with him but this is the first time I’ve let myself say it out loud. And I’m sorry I’m saying this to you but you are my best friend, Cedric. I miss you. Sometimes I miss you because I’m in love with you but sometimes I miss you because you’re my best friend and I feel so lost without you.” 

“I’m in love with Malfoy, too. Not in the same way that I love you, never in the same way that I love you but I don’t love you in the same way that I love him, either. I don’t know if it makes sense. I hope you understand what I’m saying.” 

“But he left me, Cedric. He discarded me after he got what he wanted from me. I feel so stupid.” 

You watched the sun set behind the stone. You closed your eyes, letting the rays of sun hit your skin. You let out a shaky breath, listening to the sounds of nature in the distance. You leaned over and kissed the stone, your tears staining the polished relic. You stood up, finally, dusting off your pants. “The war is coming, Cedric. I hope things work out for the better but I can’t say with full honesty that I wish to survive. I don’t think there’s much else left for me to do here.” 

“Y/N,” You turned around to see Fred standing a few feet behind you, eyebrows furrowed in concern. He walked over to you, wrapping an arm around you. He stared directly at Cedric’s name, a sad smile playing on his lips, “Sorry mate, but we’re gonna have to keep her here for a while longer. She’s not going anywhere, if I can help it.” 

You let out a wet chuckle, nudging your head into his chest, “Where’s Georgie?” 

“Waiting for us,” he said, rubbing his thumb up and down your arm. “We’re having dinner with the family tonight. You ready to go?” 

You nodded, giving one last look, before following Fred towards George. You walked in silence, until Fred spoke up again. “I meant it, you know.” 

“Hmm?”

“You’re gonna get through this war, Y/N,” he said, sternly. “I know you don’t think you have anyone left but for Merlin’s sake, you do. I say this all the time but we’re here for you. Me, Georgie, Moine, the family, Harry- everyone. You’re my family now too. I don’t know what I would do if I lost my family.” 

“It’s hard, Freddie.”

“I know,” he sighed, seeing George’s silhouette in the distance. “But you don’t have to face things alone anymore, you hear? This war is going to tear all of us apart. We need to stand united.” 

You mustered up the courage to smile, trying to ignore the way your heart beat rapidly in your chest, afraid of what’s to come.

TAGLIST:

@melancholiaflowers @jjjmaybank @marshxx @truly-insatiable @poisoned-pineapple @i-mmunity @p0gue420 @dark-night-sky-99 @hvrcruxes @youareinllve @fandomvibez @poguesinablanket @marvelhoesworld @primavera-allegoria @unexpectedurl  @oldschoolkiddo @rintheemolion @slytherinprincedracom @narcissism-iskey @lunars @babebenhardy @urmommagay3 @xdmx @animeboysslut @booknerdinator3000 @realzumiez @kiwi-sloan @mysticsimscc @miscretens @dracoshearts @dracoswift

[imagineclaireandjamie]

Shielded. Chapter Five: The Repair Shop.

Anonymous said to

imagineclaireandjamie: Ask and you shall receive.

--

After a break last week, we’re back with Sunday Shielded. I hope you enjoy <3 MBD.

--

On Saturday, much to her surprise, Jamie was down in the kitchen -his pyjamas still on- frying up some bacon. Having smelled the food, she had woken later than usual and quickly gotten herself dressed to come and investigate.

“Morning.” He said, cheerfully.

“No work today?” She asked inquisitively. It had been two weeks since her arrival and not once had he taken a day off to rest.

“I thought maybe we could spend the day together, if ye like?”

He hadn’t exactly planned on staying in, but having her open up to him made him feel as if she were now ready for company...and he found he was interested in getting to know her. His neighbours had often joked that he’d find himself missing human company at some point but it hadn’t been until he’d had Claire in his house that he finally realised that they were right.

“Oh, well,” she replied looking a little shocked. She’d paused for so long that it gave him time to think and regret his decision, maybe she still needed time by herself…

Replying, finally, she looked down at her blank phone, “I’ll have to check my busy schedule and see if I can fit you in - I’m in demand, you know?”

Chuckling under his breath he passed her a breakfast sandwich before turning back to take a bite of his own. “Feeling humorous today, are we?” He jested, immediately panicking that it might have been the wrong thing to say.

Smiling around her sandwich, she blinked slowly and made her longest assessment of Jamie since meeting him. He was much taller than she’d remembered. She could see that as he ducked through the doorway into the pantry to collect the tomato sauce. It felt as though the house hadn’t been built with such dimensions in mind.

Sensing her eyes on him, Jamie poked his head around the door in time to see her hair settle back against her shoulders. She’d been quick to avoid being caught, but not fast enough. Biting his lip to stop the laughter from bubbling up he watched her fingers rest gently against the skin of her neck. The first thing he’d noticed was her height, small shoulders and a long shapely neck. The curls of her hair had been pinned up, but this morning she’d left them bobbing just shy of her collarbone. Somehow it gave emphasis to the muscles that ran seamlessly from her arm and up to stop beneath her ears. Pretty, he thought, more striking when she turned and he caught the deep blue hue of her irises. They were almost golden at the edges, like the tip of a wedding ring as the sun catches the metal.

He couldn’t stop the image of her in a long white dress springing to mind as he stumbled over a rogue stone on his way back to the sink and he had to shake his head to rid himself of the vision.

Silly, he thought as he sat in front of her.

Jenny, his sister, had been on the phone the night before talking about memories and he tried to play it off as if those conversations had merged though a strange spinning in the base of his stomach continued to bother him.

Seeing a strange confusion pass over his face, she coughed, wiping the crumbs from her mouth as she finished her breakfast. “What did you have in mind?”

The atmosphere that had subtly hung in the air vanished as fast as it had developed and, looking out of the window, she glanced at the clouds as they hovered overhead. It felt like rain, a day for being indoors no matter whether you were allowed out or not. Turning her attention back to Jamie, he tilted his head very slightly. She had no plans, obviously and had only thought as far as getting herself downstairs for a cup of tea.

“I could do wi’ some help, if ye dinna mind?”

“Of course!” The smile that spread across her face was honest, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of being some assistance. “I can’t promise that I’ll be great, it depends on what you need help with, but I’m all yours for the day.”

As it turned out, Jamie had a few pieces of furniture in the back of his bedroom that had various issues. One table with a missing leg, a chair with some damage to the woodwork along the back and some shelves in need of serious renovation.

“I saw yer books sitting in the suitcase you have, I thought maybe we could sand these down, gi’ them a new coat of varnish and put them on the walls in yer room. That way you can unpack, make the space your own?”

Holding the planks up, Jamie twisted the wood between his hands. There was a lull as he sized up what he’d got, making sure they were wide enough to hold a set of books. “Or we could paint them, if ye fancy some colour? I’m no’ totally averse to covering up the original oak but I ken enough about ‘Changing Rooms’ style that it can go horribly wrong. What do ye think?”

“I feel like a heathen for covering wood - varnish would be wonderful, though.”

“Do ye think designers are hidden behind the panels, just waiting for you to commit some crime against interior design?”

That thought remained with her through mid-morning and into the afternoon. When they finally stopped for lunch, the back utility room was covered in shavings, as were Jamie and Claire. Washing her hands, she tried to pick as many of the larger chunks of wood from her jumper and leggings. They’d managed to revitalise the former shelves and give them one coat of varnish. Now they were drying Jamie had suggested a cup of tea and something to eat before moving on to the other items.

“Have you ever thought of engraving?” Blowing across the warm liquid, she had in mind some of the more discrete carvings she’d seen on wooden furniture whilst frequenting antique shops in Oxford. “Not just initials - we could come up with a logo of sorts. Or a crest? Your family has one, doesn’t it?”

It had been one of those long nights a couple of days ago when she’d found his family crest. At first she had been amused, pulling the secret door open where it sat at the top of the stairs to find an array of hidden gems including a complete knight of the realm suit of armour. The crest had been embossed into the metal, its stylish swirls standing out clean and proud on the breastplate. She had been tempted to put it on for about a second, but had then relented, closed the door and moved on with her search.

It wasn’t until they were knee deep in their project that she’d had the idea.

“I suspect I’d need some practice if I were going to try and add that, there’s quite a bit of detail on it.” There was no surprise in his voice, but she did notice the subtle change in his face as he put his sandwich down for just a moment. His almost undetectable shock soon turned to amusement as he took a crisp from the bowl between them.

“Take a rubbing, that way you already have an almost identical copy of it.”

“Aye, good idea. What next to get it on the wood?”

“You use something sharp. I’d say a compass would probably work alright. Et voila,” with a flamboyant flick of her wrists, she pointed towards where the half broken items sat waiting their turn for sanding and fixing. “You have yourself the beginnings of your own engraving. A personalised signature on your recreations.” She looked excited at the prospect, which, in turn, made Jamie feel similarly joyful.

“My mam would have liked you.” He said without thinking. For a second he felt abashed at his words but when he saw that it hadn’t phased her, he took a deep breath and a gulp of his tea.

“She wouldn’t have been worried about you taking in waifs and strays, then?”

“Nah. She would have encouraged it. Especially since yer so handy wi’ hints on how to continue the Fraser legacy - it’s something she would have been keen on too.”

Sitting back in her chair she tried to picture what his mother might have been like.

“I’ll get out the albums later, if you like? Show you some pictures of her and da.” He said, answering her silent question.

“Sounds perfect. Now,” sitting up straighter, she put her hands flat against the table, “let’s get these chairs mended and back on form eh!”

“Couldn’t have put it better myself, Claire.”

With purpose, she nodded and stood, the name (though natural on his tongue) still feeling unnatural to her ears.

“You start the sanding, Jamie, and I’ll go and take the first rubbing of the crest.”

[bumbershots]

A CERTAIN ROMANCE

CHAPTER FIVE: A SPECIAL DAY

Author’s note: Hello! We have finally reached the awaited date between Harry and Alma. I was really excited for this chapter, hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did, forgive me in advance for any mistakes, my beta reader (my boyfriend) was unavailable, so this is a good time to say that if anyone out there has the time and willingness to beta read any future chapters send me an ask or message to let me know. Enjoy! (:

Story masterlist ** Word count: 2.6K **

Harry wakes up feeling excited, nervous and hungry. He takes care of the latter, decides to make some blueberry pancakes, turns out he can't eat more than two and a cup of coffee. Not that the pancakes weren't great, in fact they were fantastic, he even decides to brag about them on an Instagram story that is published for his close friends only. Nick quickly replies to it with a laughing emoji.

You should take a Tupperware full of them to your date ;)

The reason behind his excitement and nerves make his heart race, he decides to type in a polite 'fuck off' to his mate before heading to the shower. Under the warm spray of water he tries to sort out his thoughts. Harry doesn’t want to think about his upcoming trip to California. 

It was necessary for the album or so he thought last week, after going through a box with the very few memories he kept from his ex. He wasn’t in a right state of mind then, he feels pathetic. The only reason why he wanted to spend time in Los Angeles was because everything there —from the pavement to the sky— was tainted by her. 

Why would he want to go back to that place where the constant reminder of his pain was literally living in the same neighbourhood? Because it would provide him the cathartic release he was looking for. That’s the line he used after Sarah and Mitch tried to dissuade him from flying across the Atlantic and Harry was so proud of himself when it worked. 

That very same day, he got the first text from Alma, it was the address like she promised. ‘In case one of your talents isn’t stumbling upon my work place ;)’ the second text read and Harry had to endure Sarah’s questionnaire about the girl that made him blush with a mere wink emoji. Not that he minded talking about her, he could go on all day.

He usually preferred a shower before breakfast, usually even work out before then but well, hunger clouded his judgement earlier today. Even with that taken care of that dread still niggled him away. Just slightly. So, he decided to pick up his guitar for a moment and strummed. There was no real intention to play seriously, or to write anything down on the journal by his desk. It was more of something he enjoys too much not to do it, a way to keep his hands and mind busy, faffing around with chords. With a bit of luck he might come up with a song, a tune which just worked, that just... clicked.

Contrary to what people might believe, genius didn't strike him here and then. Not like when he'd come up with Sign of the times or Two ghosts. But finding a neat little pattern of chords a good thirty minutes later makes him smile, it's something he can work with. It needs a little polishing from Mitch and company, sure, but it has a good rhythm. He scribbled down some notes on his journal and sent the audio to his fellow musician.

Maybe he will find the words in one of the old notebooks that are somewhere in the other room, perhaps on the ones that are still on his unpacked suitcase from Japan. Silently he also hoped to find the lyrics around London. He had lived in the capital for a few years now, but he had been different then. Now he likes to think that he's a man, no longer the teenager from the boy band or the shiny new solo artist. He has new perspectives, sights, smells in this new home of his. New ideas.

Harry gazes out his bedroom window; the view is not great –mostly of the other houses in the complex. His mind focused on the cloudy sky, confused because he swore it was sunny just a few minutes ago, can bet on his life that he woke up to dazzling sunshine rays of a warm yellow colour peeking through that same window. He puts his guitar away on the bed with care and makes a beeline to his wardrobe. He needs to figure out what to wear, pronto.

Skipping her afternoon kip was not something Alma did, it was a rare occurrence which meant one thing: something special was happening.

Walking down Oxford Street, trying to decide where to get some lunch without a care in the world, that was until the calmness faded, when her schedule for the day hit her.

She had a date with Harry. A date, with Harry Styles. It was weird to go by his full name in her head, she couldn't bring herself to call or think about him as The Harry Styles.

Maybe she'd settle to call him Harry the tube guy.

The clock on her phone showed that it was no longer single figure hours, she needed to get some food now or starve until her shift was over, and then he would have to watch her feast at whatever place he chose. Alma groaned, thought how ridiculous it was to worry about him watching her eat. Harry was a grown man; of course he knows that women eat too, right?

Walking into the nearest Sainsbury's she decided to take a deep breath. He's just some guy, she concluded after paying for her chicken baguette. Nothing to stress about.

Harry showered again, while belting out some classic pop tunes. Namely Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, something that in the past he'd swear blind you'd misheard and it was actually The Rolling Stones or Pink Floyd. But he'd come to terms that he liked what he liked.

Towel clad in the bedroom, trying to shirk off hypothermia, he was quick to put on some pants and jeans, before throwing on some simple white tee proclaiming some fading band name. He uses a dry clean towel from the closet and attempts to dry his hair, as he styles his flopped mop the thought of a haircut crosses his mind. It was getting a bit long.

One last look at the clock and he is ready to leave. "You'll be fine. Trust me." He quietly speaks to himself before closing the last few buttons of his green parka and fixing the newsboy cap on his head.

When he walks out of Colindale tube station, a little earlier than half past five, he sees the bakery from her instructions just below the large modern building Alma was kind enough to describe. She was right; the bakery is right across the street, he waits for the green man to light up to cross, shoving his hands in his pockets. The huge front windows of the establishment allow Harry to see her behind the till, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. She looks better than she did three weeks ago. He hesitates about going in for a few minutes, but feels it ought to be better than to lurk on the street.

Alma can feel his presence the moment he sets foot into the shop, her eyes are drawn to him and a content close lipped smile is the best greeting he could ask from her. The only customer in the place can feel the shift in the atmosphere when they lock eyes. So, picking up her bag full of baked goods, she steps out and leaves them alone.

"Sorry if I'm too early." He begins while she takes off her apron and hangs it in the back wall.

"You're right on time," Alma says after checking her watch, "I'm off Carlos, see you tomorrow!" She hollers to the employee that is taking a non-allowed nap in the back. Harry holds the door open for her and follows out of the warm store. "Shall we take the tube?" At his affirmative response, she then takes out her Oyster card and leads the way.

The café was not somewhere Alma expected Harry to go, the little shop with soothing music and simple stools full of the scent of organic coffee brewing is dazzling and unique. A bit like him, she thinks. She liked it. It reminded her of the places she used to frequent when she had recently moved into the city.

Harry orders a black coffee at the counter before asking Alma what she'd like.

"A cappuccino, and remember I'm paying for our food," she hands him a tenner that he reluctantly takes from her.

"Absolutely," he iterates the order to the woman behind the counter and adds two salted caramel cupcakes handing over the cash. "If you get a seat, I'll bring it over."

Alma thanks him before scampering across the room to sit at the back two seat table tucked in the corner. It was right beside the large back window, dimly lit. Before she sat, she removed her signature burgundy coat and Harry couldn't help his eyes being drawn to certain aspects of his companion. Nice arse, he remarked with a raise of his brows before the woman behind the counter tells him for the third time that his order is ready, a look of disdain as she probably caught his gaze. Giving her a sheepish smile to appease her, he manages to balance the two plates and mugs in his hands and walk over to the table.

"They asked if you wanted whipped cream or foam and I settled for foam, hope that's not a problem." He plonks himself on the seat across from her, removing his parka in a clumsy manner before hanging it in the back of the chair.

"No problem, I actually despise–

"Whipped cream, yeah, I kind of remembered what you told me about that birthday party of yours," the green eyed lad finishes for her and scratches the back of his neck. "You know with that dare..."

Her eyes flickered down to the cupcakes laid out before them and she started picking the caramel out of one, hoping to hide the nerves his words caused.

"Right enough, yeah... I can't believe you remembered that or that I told you about it." She chuckled nervously at the anecdote she chose to share with him, it was a bit inappropriate due to the amount of vomit around it, literally. But he shrugged with a charming smile. No big deal. "Nice place," she noted.

"I know it's a bit of a strange choice. It doesn't strike me as, you know, the kind of place you put so much effort into for a first date..." Harry stops talking and now his eyes meet the cupcake in front of him. "Bollocks I must have sounded so daft, I'm sorry." Lucky for him, she doesn't laugh, instead she reaches out to stroke his hand and give it a gentle squeeze.

"Nothing to be sorry about, I can be quite daft so..."

"I doubt that Miss suave." He gets a laugh out of her then, one that is almost a snort and earns a few glances from other customers.

"I’m far from it! Honestly, I once accidentally stepped on dog shit and didn't notice until my date couldn't bear the stink anymore and checked my shoe, in a very fancy restaurant. Terrible story. Trust me, I can be daft." Alma held up her hands and the musician giggled at her.

"Promise you won't laugh?" he raised an eyebrow at her, pleading. She promised. "Well, I kind of always wanted to have a first date here. It's always one of the first places I visit when I'm back in London, the food is amazing, and service is excellent. Came here completely hung-over after my twenty-first birthday party. I guess it has a lot of good memories." Pinked cheeks gave away Harry's embarrassment, he wanted to relax and for her to be more comfortable around him.

With a sincere smile Alma placed her hand over his resting on the table. "I think that is very sweet." This reply was not what he had expected; she leant in and beckoned him closer. "For your information Harry, this is exactly a great place for a first date." Up close he swore the darkness of her eyes were about to swallow him whole and spit him out to an alternate universe. He swallowed hard and took a sip of his coffee to distract himself a bit. Perhaps caffeine was not a good choice on a day where his heart was speeding so frequently.

"Did you have a good day today at work?" he asks with a familiarity that Alma can get used to.

"Yeah, had a bit of free time to plan my next video blog. It's been ages since I uploaded one." She bashfully admits. "This cupcake was delicious, a great flavour choice." And just like that they fall into easy conversation until their cups are drained. The place is almost empty around quarter to eight and they both know it's almost closing time –the death glances from the employees behind the counter gave it away. They put on their garments again before leaving.

Harry makes his way to the door expecting Alma to follow. Instead she first gathered up their mugs and plates, to place them neatly on the counter and thanked the three workers behind it with a genuine smile. Harry looked surprised; she didn't quite have to do that. She noticed.

"Just being polite," she stated the obvious, before walking under his arm that held open the door. He chose not to comment and fought back a smile.

They stood outside, not really sure of what to do next. Usually he would suggest going back to his place. It was near, but he watched her yawn discreetly and he suddenly remembered that she had a real job, well actually jobs in plural. He broke the silence.

"It was nice to see you again Alma." He meant it and she smiled as she toyed with the buttons of her coat. British summer weather was hardly cold, but today it seemed to be punishingly windy. Harry near gave a shiver, but instead took a deep breath before speaking again. It was now or never. "It'd be quite great, if I could... I'd like to see you again. Please." He shifted on one foot, nearly drowned in the silence that followed.

"I'd quite love to see you again," Harry gave a slight gulp, very slight and got out strength from the words she spoke to take a big risk, the first of today.

He stepped closer and cradled her face in his hands before leaning down and kissing her cheek. It wasn't the full on kiss he wanted to give her. But it is something he'd been dying to do since he first saw her today, something he hoped would make clear how attracted he was to her. Harry smelled like coffee and caramel. God this man's lips are prettier up close, she thought right before he straightened up.

She stayed close to him before speaking again. A low murmur so that the passing London traffic wouldn't steal her words from him.

"This was an amazing date."

Alma walked with him the long distance of one mile to the tube station, their hands brushing against each other. He was desperate to just hold hers, kiss her soft knuckles and ask about the lightning-shaped scar on her little finger. But decided against it, he knew that West Hampstead was not a common area for paparazzi, but he didn't want to risk her. Especially after the splendid afternoon they just shared.

They said their farewells.

"I'll call you," he said again. She warned that he better, before entering the station, he took great delight in watching her walk away from him, his gaze falling once more to her bum now covered by the coat. Harry spun on his heel and walked the short distance to his home.

Surely London could help him find the lyrics for that tune, this city definitely had something.

///

Let me know if you like the story! *** Join the taglist!

///

TAG LIST: @laurxn-robinson​ @mellamolayla​ 

[rosemaidenvixen]

Ugly Sweaters and Hot Cocoa

Happy Secret Santa, Merry Christmas, and Blessed Yule to @tigereyes45. You wanted something with adult asexual Krel enjoying his best life, so I wrote this little one shot with him and his fellow ace friends calling Aja to update her about his life on earth. Hope you enjoy!

@toa-secret-santa

Ao3

Krel carefully placed the laptop down on the coffee table and looked around “Everyone ready?”

Eli plopped down on the couch right next to him “Ready,”

Zoe hopped over the back and landed on Krel’s other side “All set, now we just need to wait for Douxie to get her with the--”

“Ask and you shall receive,” Douxie stepped around the side of the couch and slid the pile of DVDs onto the table before flopping back next to Zoe “Ready when you are Krel,”

“Awesome,” Krel turned and opened up the laptop, typing in the commands to establish the connection “Let’s get started,”

A few seconds later Aja’s blue face popped up on the screen.

“Hello little brother!”

“Hello Aja,” Krel greeted her with a small smile.

“Hi Aja!”

“Nice to see you,”

“How’s it going, did you get the video games I sent you?”

She held up a thin plastic box in front of the screen “Yes, thank you Zoe, but we’ll have to be quick today, I can’t talk for long, there is a meeting with dignitaries from the far territories,” 

Abruptly Aja’s figure on the screen froze, before slowly lowering the box and leaning in to squint at them “What are you all wearing?”

“Ah, well you see, today we participated in a Earth winter solstice ritual known as the ‘Ugly Sweater Party’,”

“Check it out!” Eli flipped a switch on the underside of his collar causing the Christmas tree on the front of his sweater to become illuminated with multicolored lights.

“You call that an ugly sweater?” Douxie said with a smirk “This is an ugly sweater,”

He pressed the red nose of the reindeer on his chest, causing tinny instrumental music to play. Krel and Zoe looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Douxie and Eli could be such dorks, although to be fair the snowman on Krel’s sweater shed glitter on every surface it touched, and Zoe’s sweater had so much tinsel it was hard to look directly at her. 

“Oh, excellent work, your sweaters are most hideous,”

“I know,” Krel leaned back “I don’t really understand it either,”

Aja giggled before she started, zooming closer until her face took up the entire screen “Seklos and Gaylen Krel! Is this your new house?”

Krel perked up “Oh yes, sorry I thought I already told you we moved in. We’re on the loft right now but I can show you the rest,” he stood and picked up the laptop, walking over to the landing so Aja could see down stairs “There’s the kitchen, and the living room, there’s a patio outside but it might be hard to see through the sliding doors,”

“Very lively! I will have to come over to see it the next time I am on earth,”

“Yep,” Eli said with no small amount of pride “The four Ace-cateers finally have a home base,”

Krel turned and made a face so that only Aja would see; her eyes sparkled, cheeks puffed with barely restrained giggles. He hadn’t been the one to pick out that name, Eli had, and to Krel’s eternal torment it stuck.

Asexual was the english word to describe what the four of them were. There existed no such translation in the Akiridion dialect, the closest thing would be ‘preferences’.

Some Akiridions preferred those similar to themselves, some preferred those who were more different. Some enjoyed the company of others regardless of how similar or different they were. And some, like Krel, preferred to abstain altogether.

Krel had never really needed a word to describe what he was; Aja, Varvatos, and his parents had always known his preferences and accepted them without question.

So yes, Krel had never needed the word, but being able to use it to find others that were similar to him was incredible. 

Other people that would roll their eyes with him when Steve did one of his musical calls to Aja, to complain with about how nearly everything in human society was geared towards couples.

Eli, Douxie, and Zoe were some of the best friends he could ask for during his years on earth. Even if ‘The four Ace-cateers’ was an embarrassing name.

“We just moved in last week,” Zoe said loud enough for Aja to hear even though Krel was standing across the room with the laptop “There’s still a lot of unpacking to do, but that can wait until after finals,”

“Congratulations! Are your classes going well little brother?”

“Oh yes they are challenging to be sure but I having a blast,” Krel returned the laptop to the table while sitting back down on the couch “Humans have such a complex history, and the way the carbon based life on this planet evolved is truly fascinating,”

Douxie leaned over and grinned at the computer screen “You have no idea how disappointed the engineering school was to miss out on him, there was even talk about some of them throwing him into a sack and dragging him to the engineering campus so they could force him to join,”

“Kleb that,” Krel folded his arms and leaned back “If I wanted to learn utterly basic engineering from some larvox that doesn’t even know what a Daxial array is, I would go back to high school,”

Aja giggled before turning towards Eli “How are your studies going, Ambassador Pepperjack?”

“I’m hanging in there, Mr. Strickler’s been helping with my political science classes, but learning all the different languages is hard,”

Krel grinned and nudged him with an elbow “Eli, tell her what happened your debate,”

Aja’s eyeridges rose “Debate?”

Eli blushed scarlet while the three of them started smirking “There’s nothing to tell!”

“If it is nothing why are you turning red?”

“Let’s just say Ash Dispersal Pattern, featuring DJ Kleb, made a guest appearance,” Douxie said with a sly grin.

“Is that what you call it?! There was a dragon in the auditorium!” 

Zoe held up a finger “Hey, Charlemange is a cool guy,”

“The quad was on fire.”

“I assure you, we had everything under control,”

“And the gnomes!?” Eli said indignantly, face still crimson.

Krel opened his mouth to retort, paused, shut his jaw with a click, and then opened it again “....yeah ok that was our bad, we took that one a little too far,” 

Eli covered his face and moaned

Aja’s expression was both confused and intrigued “Ok, we don’t have enough time right now, but you will definitely have to tell me the full story later,” 

Zoe nodded at her “I’ll send you the pictures,”

“Oh, that reminds me, how is your deejaying Krel?”

“Klebtastic, I’ve been doing pretty regular work at the recreation center’s party nights, and I’m going to be doing the music in town square for Arcadia’s New Years eve celebration,” 

“That’s Amazing!” she beamed at him “You know when I told the council of elders what your DJ name is they were so horrified, a few of them actually fainted,”

Krel let out a short laugh “Oh man, I wish I could have been there,”

Aja chuckled along with him for a moment when someone suddenly called to her from offscreen. She leaned over and disappeared from view for a while responding to them before quickly popping back “I have to go soon, but it was good talking to you,”

“Yes,” Krel sighed, the other three sitting back to let him and his sister say goodbye “I miss seeing you,”

“Krel I--” Aja hesitated before speaking up again “Krel...I am glad that you are happy on earth with your friends and your deejaying and your studies...but there will always be a place for you on Akiridion-5,”

Krel froze, caught off guard by the sudden heaviness in his chest and stinging in his eyes. 

His life on earth wasn’t perfect, there were pieces missing; Aja was the biggest one. But he had his friends, his town. A life outside being a prince that he’d never imagined.

Maybe one day he would want something different, but for now this was enough.

“Thank you Aja,”

Aja gave him a soft smile “You can always come back whenever you want, but I know earth is your home to,”

Someone called to her from beyond the computer again, Aja frowned sharply, standing abruptly and shouting offscreen “I will be finished soon, now would you please give me a mekron to speak with my brother in peace!”

She sat back down into view and sighed “I have to go now, but it was good talking to you, and Krel--”

“Yes, I know, I will give hugs and kisses to the oaf for you,”

“I was going to say don’t take so long to call again, but if you really want to, I can ask Steve to--”

“Flishgag no!”

“Aja! Ew!” Eli’s face was a picture of disgust.

She laughed at them through the screen, Douxie and Zoe going right along with her. 

“Take care of yourself little brother,”

“I will, and you do the same,”

She gave him a melancholy smile “Goodbye,”

Bittersweet feelings stirred in his stomach “Bye, see you soon,”

With that he pressed a button on the keyboard causing the screen to go dark.

Krel pressed the power button and shut the laptop, but not before he could see the glum look on his face reflected in the blaack screen. 

It was good to catch up with Aja, he should definitely arrange another call soon. But immediately after their calls ended was always when he felt the literal lightyears of distance between them most acutely.

He played off the swell of emotion as a shudder “Why your race chooses to express romantic affection by mushing your mouths together I will never understand,”

“Agreed,” Eli punctuated the word with a nod.

“I don’t know guys,” Douxie said “Kissing isn’t all that bad,”

“Yeah,” Zoe slid closer to him “I think I might like to do some right now,”

“Please no,”

“Gross,”

Douxie flashed them a malicious grin while pulling a smirking Zoe in closer “We’re going to do it,” he said in a sing-song voice.

“Guys, eeww!”

“If you two kiss I am throwing myself out the window,”

“Pucker up honeypie,” Zoe leaned in close, Douxie bending his head down to meet her.

Eli made gagging noises.

“The window is open and I am ready to jump!”

Zoe and Douxie were less than an inch away when Lucy suddenly popped up from behind the couch, causing Zoe to fall and Douxie to jump with a yelp.

“Nuh uh uh kiddos, no PDA in the living room. Got to be on your tip top best behavior now, Santy Claus is watching,”

Zoe got back up with a grumble “We’re grown adults in our own house,”

Lucy didn’t so much as bat an eye “How about you sports have some hot cocoa, extra whipped cream and extra marshmallows,” she held out a tray with four steaming mugs.

“...if this is a bribe I will totally take it,” Zoe reached up and grabbed one of the mugs, Eli and Douxie following suit.

Krel shut the window with a sigh of relief and walked over to accept his own mug. Zoe and Douxie would pick chocolate over making out any day; besides, if past experience was anything to go by Krel wasn’t very good at hiding his gloom at being separated from his sister, and they had only been trying to distract him.

He picked up one of the DVDs from the stack on the coffee table “Should I start the movie now?”

“Yes,”

“Definitely,”

“Fire it up,”

Krel popped the disk into the player before going back over to plop down on the couch between Eli and Douxie. Zoe picked up the box from where he set it on the table “When a big city lawyer heads home for the holidays it’s love at first sight when-- wow, they aren’t even trying anymore are they?”

“They’re the Hallmark channel,” Eli said between sips of his hot chocolate “What do you think?”

“You know, when I first arrived on Earth I thought that these movies were an accurate representation of human courtship, you have know idea how relieved I was when I learned they weren’t,”

“Yeah they are inaccurate drivel,” Douxie said as the opening credits started rolling “But they are a ton of fun to watch with my fellow Ace-cateers,”

Krel grinned and held up his mug “I’ll drink to that,”

[crystalirises]

Clouds V.2.

Help girl, I think I’m confused./j

I swear I posted this??? Huh??? I can’t find it on my blog? Bruh???? 

Sorry if I did post this and this becomes a repost, I just can’t find the original post (am I being dumb wtf???)

Anyway... uh... second version of the Clouds fic I posted. Again, sorry if this is a repost I literally am so confused rn. Help ;-; (did I delete it??? omg I can’t remember whut)

It can also be found on Ao3 but Tumblr is being weird for me rn so I can’t add the ao3 link ;-;

Edit: I found the original post but it doesn’t appear unless I click on the fundy tag on my own blog but if I look at just the blog it doesn’t appear... I am so confused tumblr what did I do.

So, same warnings as the previous Clouds fic.

TW: Poisoning and Major Character Death

The pitter-patter of his footsteps echoed loudly against the cobblestone, wringing his hands together he wondered if it would be too inconsiderate of him to cancel at the last second. Ghostbur would be here at any second. The thought only fueled the terrible anxiety that had taken over him the moment Ghostbur had suggested his idea. He should just pretend he was sick... Yeah. Yeah. He could do that, right?

His ears twitched at the top of his head, drooping as he recalled that today was supposed to be a happy one. Phil had come over and Eret had shown him around the castle as Fundy watched from behind the corner. Phil had given nothing away, his lips set into a thin line as he took in the stone walls of the structure. Fundy felt his heart pound at the recent memory, he really thought Phil was going to refuse.

"As you can see, there's plenty of room here for Fundy. I was actually planning to give him this entire wing of the—" Eret was a great host, a perpetual smile on their face despite the tense atmosphere between them and Phil. Fundy didn't know how Eret could keep their calm when he was over there panicking.

"That's enough, Eret. I've seen enough." Phil's voice cut through the air. It was the only time he's spoken since the tour began. Eret turned to face him, their flurried movement muffled by the soft red carpet beneath their feets.

"What's the verdict, then?" Eret's voice was soft, a hint of their own nervousness coming through his tone. Fundy was shaking. He liked Eret. He really did. But Phil... He didn't know what Phil knew about Eret but—

"You're a kind person, Eret, and I can see you've put a lot of thought into this adoption thing." Phil let out a sigh, gesturing to one of the rooms. "Shall we look at the papers then?"

The two disappeared into the room, leaving Fundy to his thoughts. Eret had left the door open a crack, an invitation. Fundy couldn't bring himself to hear Phil break the news that, no, he wasn't getting adopted. Not if Phil had anything to say about it. Fundy sat down in one of the alcoves, forlornly gazing out the window at the clouds that drifted into view. It felt as if an eternity had passed before he heard the creak of the door.

He looked over at the two, a warm grin on both their faces. "You'll be a great parent, Eret. Take good care of him." Phil patted Eret on the back. "If they ever do you wrong, Fundy. Don't ever hesitate to tell me."

And with that, Phil walked away, declining Eret's offer to escort him out the castle.

He looked at Eret - his dad? mom? ren? - disbelief on his face as he realized that it was over. He... He had a parent again!

"D-dad?" The word felt foreign against his tongue... but it felt right.

Eret smiled, opening up his arms. "Come here, son."

He practically jumped into his new parent's arms, a happiness he hadn't felt in a long time bubbling from within him. "Thank you."

Fundy awoke from the memory, a smile had climbed its way to his face as he thought of the events of the morning. He wanted to spend the rest of the day with Eret but Ghostbur paid him a visit. The ghost looked pale - well paler than a ghost should be - he flickered in and out of view so fast that Fundy thought his mind was playing a trick on him. Fundy expected that visit, but he didn't expect what Ghostbur wanted to say.

As blood seeped from the ghost's chest, he had fallen to his knees (uh... Fundy wasn't sure if the ghost tail could be counted as knees), begging Fundy to give him one last day to be a father. If it had been the old Wilbur, Fundy would have said no. But... He couldn't help but pity Ghostbur. He was trying so hard to fix his mistakes… and it wasn't like he knew what he had done in his life. How could Fundy leave him in such a desolate state?

He should have said no. What would he even say? There’s so many things he wished he could say. But Ghostbur… he wasn’t Wilbur. Wilbur was gone, replaced by a pitiful remnant of the man’s spirit. Maybe he should just leave and say he was sick—

“So— Fundy!”

Shit. Too late to go back now. A shiver ran down his spine as the ghost’s presence made itself known, Ghostbur’s low voice causing him to jump a bit as he turned to look around. Ghostbur had a soft smile on his face, his complexion paler than before. Phantom blood clung to the man’s yellow sweater, dripping every so often only to dissipate the moment it reached the ground. Fundy could only hope that Ghostbur’s blood didn’t end up inside the picnic basket he was carrying.

“Hey. Hey, Wil. So, what’s with the picnic basket?”

“Oh! I was wondering what we could do today and then I remembered. Remember when you were younger and we would have a picnic near the riverbank?” There was a glint in Ghostbur’s eyes, Fundy swears he’s seen it before. “I… I thought we could do that.”

Fundy doesn’t have the heart to tell the ghost that... technically… the only person who’ll be eating was Fundy. He sighed, nodding as an answer to Ghostbur’s question. “We used to do it with mom.” He does not miss the way Ghostbur’s smile disappears, grief flickering on the ghost’s face at the mention of his old love. The sad emotion faded just as quickly, replaced by that infuriating smile as if nothing had just happened. “Lead the way then, Wil.”

“OH! Right!”

Ghostbur floated beside him, the cobblestone pathways gave way to wooden bridges and wooden bridges gave way to grassy plains. Fundy wondered why Ghostbur wanted to have their picnic away from New L’Manburg when there was a river nearby its borders. He would ask… if the ghost didn’t keep changing the topic every second. Ghostbur alternated between telling what he had done that day to what Fundy had done that day. Fundy could hardly keep up with the conversation at all. It was almost as if the ghost was rambling.

“I helped Niki with her bakery today—“

“Oh? That’s great, Wil—“

“Have you talked with Niki recently?”

“Well, I—“

“Oh, I also had a small chat with Phil!”

“Uh huh.”

“He eventually had to leave for something, mentioning Eret and a meeting…”

“That’s probably cause—“

“You like Phil, right?”

“Yeah, Wil can you pick one—“

“Oh I also picked some flowers and some berries today.”

“That’s great, Wil.”

“I made you a salad!”

“Oh.”

Fundy tuned out midway, seeing as Ghostbur didn’t really care for what he had to say. He looked up into the sky instead, watching the clouds float by, their ethereal presence soothing him a bit. He began to trace their edges, imagining a world within the clouds. If he looked closely, he could almost see a cloud that looked just like a salmon. He felt a sharp pang in his heart, a memory from his childhood echoing from the recesses of his mind.

“My little champion, look at you. When did you get so big, huh?” Wilbur held him closely to his chest, a calloused hand caressing his hair as they made their way through the grassy field. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, a beautiful day… a peaceful day. “What present do you want, huh?”

He looked up, the clouds that floated above their heads looked like the marshmallows that his uncle Tommy had once given him. He pointed at one that looked suspiciously like a flower, “Clouds.” Wilbur laughed, holding his son closer.

“You deserve the world, Fundy.” He placed a small kiss on the top of Fundy’s head. “Someday.”

“Hurry up, you two!” His mother’s voice drifted across the field, the sunlight tangled in her long red hair. She had gone ahead to unpack for the picnic. Fundy could remember her smile, her deep love for him… but… he… he can’t recall what she looked like…

“Fundy?” He tore himself away from the memory, his mother taught him to see the shapes in the clouds, didn’t she? there was a cold hand pressed against his cheek, Ghostbur’s eyes peered down at him from above. The steady noise of a rushing river registered in his ears, how long had he zoned out? He moved away from Ghostbur’s touch, the heat returning to his cheek. “We’re here.” The ghost gestured to the idyllic spot they had stopped at… it almost felt familiar…

“Huh. Sorry, I was… thinking.”

“It’s alright, so— Fundy. Here, sit down.” Fundy looked at the patch of grass his father had pointed to, the picnic basket having been placed down beside it. “Are you hungry? Now, we both know I’m not a great cook but I… tried my best with the salad.”

Fundy hesitantly looked inside the basket, nightmares of Wilbur’s… less than stellar cooking coming to mind. The salad looked dangerously pink, a multitude of berries mixed into the strange creation. Fundy looked up, the chill of Ghostbur’s eager gaze eventually forced him to take the salad out of the basket. He tries not to jump as Ghostbur claps his hands together, spinning mid-air with an almost manic glee.

“It… looks great, Wil.”

No, it did not look great, but… Ghostbur seemed so happy, and Fundy hasn’t even taken a bite yet. Ghostbur giggled, floating down to sit beside Fundy. “It took me a while to gather everything I needed.”

Fundy looked at down at the pink mess of a salad and shakily took a bite. He tries not to gag at the bitter taste on his tongue. Ghostbur looked so happy and he didn’t want to ruin the poor ghost’s efforts. He sighed, shoveling more of the muck into his mouth. The sooner he finishes eating, then the sooner he can get back home to Eret. Ghostbur hummed beside him, seemingly satisfied as Fundy continued to eat.

“You know…” Ghostbur’s voice broke through the silence. Fundy looked up, shaking his head a bit as the world blearily spun around him. “I… don’t like Eret.”

“Wil… the papers were already signed, okay?” Fundy nearly snarls. He didn’t come here to talk about this. “It doesn’t matter what you— I-I thought you wanted to spend time with me!”

Ghostbur blinked down at him, his mouth agape in surprise. “W-wha— Of course I do! I-I’m just… I-I don’t see why you need another father when I’m right he—

“Okay, okay, that’s enough, Wilbur. It’s been fun, it’s been great. But if this is all you wanted to talk about then I’m leaving.” Fundy sighed. He didn’t know what he expected, but he had heard enough. His head was starting to pound… he turned to stand up, “You know what, Wil—“

He shuddered, falling back onto the ground as the world faded into a blur. He felt weak, his head beginning to ache… was he… was he sick? He shivered, curling into himself as a wave of nausea rolled over him.

“Wha— Wil… What did you—“

“I’m sorry, Fundy.” Ghostbur floated into view, a halo of white around his form as he placed a cold hand on Fundy’s head. “I… I tried! I want you to be happy Fundy but I just... Eret? You want Eret as your dad?”

“W-Wil…”

He felt those ghostly hands gently caress his hair, exhaustion seeping into his veins. “It took me a while to find those foxgloves… Niki almost caught me… b-but you have to understand, Fundy, I’m doing this for you!”

“I—“ Fundy whined, his headache worsening as his vision began to blur. He felt so tired…

“I know it hurts, but I promise it’ll be over soon.” Wilbur let out a small huff, wrapping his arms around Fundy’s shivering form, wishing that he could provide some semblance of comfort. “I’ll be here when you wake up. Just… you must be tired, huh?”

Fundy cried as Ghostbur began to hum a familiar tune.

‘I don’t want this.’

‘I don’t want to die like this.’

‘Why did I trust you, Wilbur?’

Fundy began to weep, Ghostbur’s constricting embrace the last thing he feels as he finally falls into sleep.

.

.

.

.

.

“It all started on a day like any another”

Fundy woke to a bloody red sky.

“All the salmon had swum to the sea”

The sun was setting in the distance.

“When my lover she darted, away from the stream”

Fundy felt the soft grass that tickled against his skin.

“With a heart that she’d taken from me”

The clouds were beginning to drift away.

“And my chest though it ached, there was hope”

Where was he?

“A little beacon of light”

He knew that song. He looked up, a familiar silhouette stood nearby.

“Though my sunniest days were now stolen away”

“D-dad?”

There was a satisfied grin on Wilbur’s face.

“Hello, son.”

“I still had our son by my side.”

~~~~~~~~~~

I am so confused I swear I posted this ;-; (maybe I deleted it idk...)

So yeah this is the second version, hope you guys liked it! Sorry if this is annoying, I’m trying to sort out some stuff on Tumblr cause some of my posts are just *poof* ;-;

Anyway, bye bye.

[burgers-and-french-fries]

Taking Chances: Chapter Thirty Six.

Note: Hello my lovies, oh where to begin. So by now you will have seen that I am currently taking a break from Tumblr which is why this post has been scheduled for today.

On another note, I’m not sure when I’m going to be online on my other social sites as my laptop broke a week ago and my phone has decided to shoot itself to shit once more, meaning that I need to get myself some new devices. Thankfully though, my amazing mother has allowed me to use her phone/laptop if I need to but I don’t want to do that to her. 

So with all of that being said, I will still be around on my other social sites but not as much as I have been in the past.

I hope that you are all keeping well and staying safe.

Enjoy!

===

Waking up in her own bed was something that Nicola would never take for granted again. Now don’t get her wrong, she was so glad that Luna was able to get the treatment she needed to get better but the uncomfortable hospital beds just about drove her up the proverbial wall. Luna seemed to have settled down a fair amount since Nicola’s body had kicked into gear but if there was one thing that Nicola wanted to get rid of, it was the pain of things growing, baby feeding etc.

“Jasmine, do you have your lunch?” Nicola called up to the little girl. Jasmine came down stairs with the brightest smile on her face. She had made the baby and Nicola a card each while they were at the hospital but with the excitement of coming home, Jasmine had forgotten to give it to Luna.

“Here.” Jasmine said proudly as she handed Nicola the unevenly folded paper cards. Nicola took them with her free hand and attempted to hug Jasmine.

“I think we a few minutes before Taron comes to collect you for school, shall we go and have read of these?” Nicola asked, making Jasmine nod enthusiastically. Jasmine was the first to sit herself on the sofa while Nicola placed Luna in her rocker and sat down beside Jasmine on the sofa.

(This is something that I wrote with my left hand. It read: Get better baby Luna. The picture on the card is something that I drew with my left hand as well.)

“Look Luna, this one’s for you.” Nicola said, holding up the card for the infant to see. Jasmine giggled.

“Her eyes are closed.” She replied. Nicola turned her eyes to Jasmine in mock shock.

“They are?” Nicola asked. Jasmine nodded.

“Well now, that’s just rude.” Nicola teased, throwing her hands up playfully. Jasmine laughed and moved over to Luna.

“You can read it to her.” Jasmine suggested.

“Good thinking my girl.” Nicola replied, opening the card. Her heart melted at the little note Jasmine had written out.

“Get better baby Luna.” Nicola read out. She closed the card and opened her arms for Jasmine to run into so to speak. Jasmine took that chance to really hug her sister. Both Nicola and Jasmine enjoyed the cuddle so much, they jumped when there was a knock on the door.

“Read yours.” Jasmine said as she followed Nicola to the door.

(This is another thing that I wrote and drew with my left hand. It reads: Lina, I miss you!)

“How about I put our cards on the fridge and then when you come home, I’ll read it with you.” Nicola offered. Jasmine liked the sound of that and ran off to grab her school bag.

“She’ll just be a minute. Why don’t you come in.” Nicola said, allowing Taron and a very bouncy Mikey into the house out of the cold. Jasmine came back speedily and was ready to go.

“Can I see Luna?” Mikey asked. Nicola chuckled at his enthusiasm.

“You’ll be late Michael.” Taron said but Mikey was long gone, as was Jasmine.

“A few seconds won’t hurt.” Nicola told him. Taron smiled.

“Suppose not. How are you?” Taron questioned. Nicola shrugged.

“Sore and tired but that’s to be expected.” She replied just as the kids came back giggling their heads off.

“Luna farted.” Mikey said through his giggles. 

“I best get her nappy changed then.” Nicola spoke. Taron nodded and helped Jasmine get the rest of her things together before they left.

=

The traffic was moving pretty well that morning and Taron was able to get the kids to school with time to spare. This got the children excited because that meant that they had time to [play for a little bit before the bell rang.

“You two have a good day.” Taron said when they came back out of the room to say goodbye.

“We will.” Jasmine replied. Mikey nodded in agreement and hugged his father.

“I’ll see you this afternoon.” Taron told both Jasmine and Mikey. Both of them nodded and ran off once more to play with their friends before the day started.

Taron walked back to his car and jumped onto google to see if he could find any remedies that could possibly help Nicola. He tried to remember what kind of things Kate used when she was breastfeeding Mikey but he’d be damned if he could remember anything about that. Scratching his forehead, Taron turned his phone off and made his way to Tesco in the hopes that something there would jog his memory. 

It wasn’t until he was at a set of traffic lights, that he had an ah-ha moment. He could remember his mum telling Kate that cabbage was great for tenderness during feeding. He kept a hold on that thought and as soon as he arrived at his destination and got himself a trolley, he made a beeline for the cabbage.

“Bloody hell, that’s a lot of cabbage.” He mumbled to himself as he shook his head and slightly shrugged. Taron just put every kind of cabbage he could see in the trolley. This included the canned cabbage he found while he was looking at other food items that he required.

When the man had completed his mission, he packed up the back of his car and made his way back over to Nicola’s to drop everything off to her.

(I found this on Pinterest.ca and I was shocked to see that there was so many different types of cabbage. I thought I’d share this picture because it is quite interesting.)

=

By the time that Taron had pulled into her driveway, Luna was just starting to wake up for her feed. Nicola had barely sat down to get herself situated when a knock echoed through the house. Nicola groaned and got up. She gave Luna a soother to keep her satisfied until she could get rid of whoever was at the door.

“What the hell is all this?” Nicola asked when she opened the door to see Taron standing there with plastic bags in his hands.

“In first, answer later.” Taron replied, clearly in discomfort as some bag handles were cutting into his hands from their weight. Nicola took a bag or two from him and led him into the kitchen. 

Nicola attempted to place the bags on the counter but inwardly cringed when she felt a tiny trickle. Taron noticed the flush of pink on her cheeks and the look of awkwardness on her face.

“You alright?” He asked with concern. Nicola closed her eyes, sighed and nodded.

“Watch her please, I’ll be right back.” Nicola answered, hurrying off to the safety of the bathroom. Taron shook his head and took all the food out of the bags so that Nicola could just place the items where they belonged later.

(This is what Luna is wearing in this chapter as it’s November and chilly outside.)

He was almost done when Luna grew agitated and started whimpering. He barely had enough time to place the eggs on the counter when Luna went from her softer whimpers to ear-splittingly loud. 

As soon as Taron reached her, he gently picked Luna up and cradled her in his arms but the position did nothing to calm her; and if it was even possible, Luna screamed even louder. Knowing that she was most likely hungry, Taron bent his little finger and placed his knuckle to the baby’s lips. This seemed to do the trick as Luna started sucking vigorously. 

“There we go.” Taron said as he looked down at his daughter. He could feel his heart melt at the sight of her just as it had when he saw her for the first time, though seeing her without the small eye covers gave him a better view of her face and boy did she resemble him. There was no longer a doubt in his mind that this baby was his. 

It didn’t take long for Luna to figure out that there was no milk coming out of whatever she was sucking on which made her start to cry again.

“Give me a minute please Luna.” Nicola hollered from the upstairs bathroom. She had barely sat down when Luna started crying and of course that made her leak right through her top, so now she was having to quickly change and make herself presentable again before rushing back down to her child.

Taron softly chuckled at Nicola's response and laid Luna in his other arm before he began rocking Luna in the hopes that it would settle her just a little bit. The rocking didn’t work but as soon as Taron stepped up to the lounge room window, Luna’s crying dissipated somewhat.

(Minus the kiss on the cheek, this is how Taron is holding Luna up to the window.)

When Nicola had finished up, she made her way downstairs. She was glad that the crying stopped but she had wondered how Taron had defused the situation. Her question was answered when she peered around the corner to see Taron standing at the window with Luna in his arms. 

She could hear him asking Luna questions in a voice she hadn’t heard before but filled her heart with love. 

“Shall we go and check on mam?” Taron asked the baby one last time. Luna simply blinked slowly at him and that’s when Nicola made her presence known.

“Can I start calling you the baby whisperer?” Nicola teased, taking Luna from Taron. Taron rolled his eyes playfully.

“She just wanted to see the bird.” He replied. Nicola smirked and sat on the sofa.

“I’m going to unpack the rest of the groceries if you need me.” Taron said, making his leave. Nicola smiled and got herself and Luna ready for a feed.

=

“Right, she’s down now.” Nicola said, walking into the kitchen to find Taron boiling the kettle. She looked at him waiting for an explanation as to why he had bought her groceries for the next few weeks.

Taron got the hint and began to speak.

“I figured you may need some food, so I went shopping.” He answered. She raised her brow in amusement.

“You bought me cabbage?” She questioned, almost gagging at the thought of having to eat them.

“After telling me earlier that you were hurting, I remembered mam telling Kate that cabbage was a good remedy. I couldn’t remember what kind of cabbage to get though, so I got all of them.” He explained. Nicola felt a smile grow on her lips. She wanted to thank him but she knew her words would probably fail her so she did the next best thing.

She cautiously moved toward him and placed a gentle kiss to his cheek. The small gesture making both their stomachs flip with anticipation. 

“Thank you.” Nicola spoke in a hushed tone. 

The warmth of her breath against his cheek made Taron want to grab her and kiss her but he knew that he had to fight it. He didn’t want to jeopardize any chance of being with her again and he feared that if he pounced on her, he’d definitely lose her. Nicola’s mind on the hand whirled with the same what-ifs as Taron’s. She really wanted to kiss him but she didn’t know if she’d scare him off and after what he had done for her today, she’d hate for Luna to lose out on a father.

Glancing up into Taron’s eyes, Nicola was unsure of what she’d see; but when she saw that his eyes mirrored the same desire she felt within the very depths of her soul, she tenderly caressed his cheek and moved her hand until it was resting at the nape of his neck. Taron’s eyes slipped shut at the feel of her skin against his. He had desperately missed how perfectly her body fit against his, how her heartbeat seemed to magically sync to his own. He missed the sound of her laughter, the way she spoke his name so melodically, the way her perfume would send his mind into frenzy as though it was the drug he always craved but most of all, he missed the way her lips would meet his in a symphony of butterflies elegantly dancing around for only them to feel. 

As their faces drew closer together, Nicola could feel Taron’s shallow and shaky breath on her lips. This made her heart rate spike as the familiar sparks of arousal surged through her veins like nothing she had known before. She wanted to feel his lips on hers. No, she needed to feel his lips on hers.

“Please.” Nicola mumbled as her lips grazed Taron’s. Taron didn’t need to be told twice but when he went to close the gap, Nicola’s body slowly moved back; as though her brain wanted to test Taron to see how far he would go for her.

Taron allowed his hands to reach up to Nicola’s face and to the sides of her neck where he returned the tender touch Nicola had given him previously. His thumbs gently ran over her cheeks as he finally brought his lips to hers, kissing her delicately.

=

Meanwhile at school, Jasmine and Mikey sat in the classroom after Mikey had gotten hit in the face with a soccer ball during lunchtime recess. Normally Mikey would keep playing but this particular hit to the face caused the little boy to lose his first tooth. It was something that he didn’t expect which made him cry.

“It’s ok Mikey.” Jasmine told him, trying her best to comfort him. Mikey shook his head.

“It’s gone.” He cried. Jasmine gave him a hug in the hopes that it would help but when it didn’t, an idea popped into her head.

Jasmine gathered all of her strength in her index finger before hooking it behind one of her bottom teeth, ripping the little sucker clean out. She didn’t care that there was blood as all she cared about was the fact that Mikey had now stopped crying.

Ivy and Isla saw Jasmine’s actions and went to find their teacher.

“Well now, you two better come with me.” Mrs. Lewis said as she followed Ivy and Isla to where the toothless twins were. 

Once they reached the classroom, Mrs. Lewis had the children sit down while she filled out an accident report out for Mikey and made sure that Jasmine’s bleeding stopped.

“It’s not bleeding.” Jasmine announced as she showed her teacher the bloody tissue. Mrs. Lewis tried not to gag or cringe.

“Good to hear. Go throw that out and get yourself ready for class. Mikey, you can go with her.” The teacher said. The friends nodded and walked out of the room as though nothing happened. 

===

End Note: 

~I know that the situation between Mikey and Jasmine may seem unrealistic but in actual fact, I had a friend in primary school who had gotten a soccer ball to the face and it knocked his tooth out. The only difference with this scene is that Mikey cries and my friend didn’t.

~The whole scenario with Jasmine ripping her tooth out is something that I actually did to myself when I was around her age. My tooth was not at all loose and yes there was blood but for some odd reason, it didn’t really phase me.

===

Tag List: @sarahegerton96​ @dangerouslcve​ @hitmeonmytspot​ @holdmeclosertinytaron​ @superthiccthighssavelives​ @uniquebeautyqueen​ @dogmom2014​ @stronglyobsessed​ @rocknrollmadden​ @jolovesfandoms​ @dontblinkumightmiss​ @lovefortaron89​ @dragonstarre​ @hauntedflamingo​ @aberystwythboy​ @jobanan23​

[johannstutt413]

(requested by nic611; continuing from this)

Zima and Istina had just gotten back from their latest mission, and it’d been a doozy; a lot of Reunion interference, as expected, but backlash from civilians and several other factions as well. What was it with Rhodes Island and its uncanny ability to find the most complex conflicts to get involved with? Well, regardless, they were home in time for dinner, and that was what-

Gummy arrived not long after they had, humming a song to herself, which quickly stopped when she saw them, bags still on the ground. “You’re back!”

“Hey, Gum,” The general said as their chef friend nearly knocked her to the ground with her hug. “You’re happier than you usually are when this happens.”

“You can tell? I met someone the other day!”

The advisor had gotten up for her share of the bear hugs, receiving it in the middle of formulating the follow-up question. “As in, you found someone to date?”

“I think so!” She let go of Istina and skipped into the kitchen to start dinner. “He’s really shy, but he’s caring and sweet and strong when he needs to be, and he’s so cute!”

“Huh. I didn’t realize we had any Ursus guys like that around here,” Zima noted as she took her and Istina’s bags away.

Gummy poked her head out of the kitchen. “Oh, he’s not Ursus. I think he’s a Perro? I didn’t pay that much attention, honestly, and we met in a blackout, sooo who knows?”

“You met him during a blackout?” Istina sighed. “They need to be more careful with the power generators, honestly.”

“Don’t worry, Greyy - that’s his name, by the way - Greyy told me he was getting her transferred to a different section of the converters that won’t overload the main power channels when she flips out the next time. We’re doing pierogi tonight, by the way!”

The general returned from unpacking her stuff, gesturing to the other Ursus in the room. “Unpack while we wait.”

“I planned on it.” As she passed by, however, the advisor grabbed her arm. “Ask her more about what happened. I’ve heard the name before, but not often enough.”

“Sure. So, Rada, you mind telling us more about what happened?”

Over the next forty minutes, as she worked through dinner, Gummy told them the story of how she met Greyy - from his rescuing her from the kitchen where she’d been stranded, to their expedition to reactivate the lights, to his opening up to her about his past and holding her up when she nearly collapsed, all the way to eating lunch and later dinner with him in the kitchen after it was all said and done. As she set the last dish at the dining room table, she concluded with, “He gave me his number so we could text, and we’ve been talking about...well, a bunch of different stuff, I guess. So, thoughts?”

“Honestly, he sounds like a nice guy,” Zima admitted, “but you said it’s been a couple days, right? Have you thought about asking him out?”

“Huh? I mean, I asked him to eat dinner with me that night. Besides, that’s what he’s supposed to do, right?” She was divvying up pierogi as the general made her comment.

Istina chuckled. “When there is a man in the relationship, that is the cultural expectation of him, yes. Not that we would know anything about that.”

“Fair point.” Sonya ladled herself a bowl of soup. “Still, it would be nice if-”

*Ding dong* “...That could be him,” Gummy observed as she left the table to answer the door.

“Do we want to see if he’ll have dinner with us?” Anna asked as they finished plating their food, waiting for Rada before starting to actually eat.

Zima shrugged. “We could, but we might scare him off at this stage. Let’s see what happens.”

“G-good evening, Gummy.” Speak of the Perro, and he shall appear. “Are you eating d-dinner right now?”

“Yep! My roommates came back today, so I’m eating with them. Um, did you want to come in?”

He shook his head. “I have to d-do some m-maintenance stuff, but I was p-passing by and I thought I would ask, um...Do you want to go see a movie with me tomorrow?”

“Yeah, that sounds fun!” She smiled at him, brighter than the light behind her. “What movie?”

“The new Nian production. I, um, did the lighting and some of the s-special effects, and um...I thought it was a cool m-movie idea.”

“If you think it’s cool, I’m sure it is~” The Ursus turned back into the house. “You guys are on your own for dinner tomorrow! Greyy and I have a date! What time?”

He ran some numbers real quick. “1730, if we want to eat before?”

“Sounds good to me! I’ll see you then.” She waited for him to turn around before closing the door and absolutely freaking out.

“Rada is right,” Zima smiled as the defender began to spontaneously dance. “Hey, Joyous One, dinner’s getting cold.”

The chef waved her off. “You can eat without me! I’ve gotta get this out of my system! WOO-HOO!!!”

“...Well, she said we could eat,” the general shrugged before she and Istina began doing just that.