#this is the first time my fiance's gotten to see her roll out a pop album and he keeps saying shes really cool :)

[sirpeppersto]

the same venue im going to for goth night on the 30th is doing a gaga night on the 2nd.....i guess im going there twice in a week bc theres no way im not getting my rah rah on

[comfyswitcherblanketfort]

IUI - The Way I Love You

bear with me here folks

I know the Idiots are usually soft af. but my lovely spouse/fiance/soon-to-be-fiance and beta @dani-dandelino hit me with an idea and I added a dash handful of angst bc i couldn’t help it

Warnings: feelings of inadequacy, fear of breakup (no actual breakup I promise), miscommunication, drunk af Geralt, past shitty relationships, happy ending tho I promise, there’s tears but they’re happy I swear.

______________________________________

Geralt only ever got sloppy drunk when Jaskier was the DD. It wasn’t necessarily that he didn’t trust anyone else, it was that he didn’t trust his drunk boyfriend not to goad him into something stupid. 

The last time they’d both gotten fucked up outside of their apartment they woke up with three traffic cones and a “Speed Hump” sign in their living room. When they asked Triss what happened she sent them a video of them giggling as they tried to fit the sign into her trunk.

After hanging the sign in their apartment, they decided it may be best to take turns. 

This particular instance, they’d dropped Triss and Yen off and were on their way home, Geralt’s head lolling against the window as he fought to stay awake. 

“I’m not carrying your perky ass upstairs,” Jaskier laughed, snapping his fingers near Geralt’s ear. 

Geralt grumbled but sat up straight and leaned into Jaskier’s outstretched hand, “Radio.”

Affectionately rolling his eyes, Jaskier pulled his hand away and flipped on the radio. Geralt immediately gasped and started singing along off key and slurred. The first time Jaskier heard Geralt scream along to Taylor Swift he’d been shocked, if extremely endeared. 

“BUT I MISS SCREAMIN’ AND FIGHTIN AND KISSIN IN THE RAIN! IT’S TWO AM AND I’M CURSIN’ YOUR NAME! SO IN LOVE THAT WE ACTED INSANE, AND THAT’S THE WAY I LOVED YOUUUUUUUUU!”

Jaskier turned the volume down to a reasonable level when Geralt cranked it so loud his ears might start ringing. He rolled his eyes when Geralt started singing it to him, taking the shortcut home and trying to ignore the little pit forming in his stomach. 

When the song ended Geralt turned the radio down and picked up his hand not gripping the steering wheel, “Jask?”

“Mhm?”

Even in the car, Geralt glanced around conspiratorially before whispering, “I have a secret.”

Fear flared in Jaskier’s chest but he took a deep, calming breath, reminding himself who he was talking to. His boyfriend thought secrets were fun. Mostly because Geralt’s version of a secret was keeping what he made for dinner a surprise until Jaskier got home. He’d even felt guilty not telling Jaskier he was seeing a therapist when they’d started dating. For all his gruff exterior and suspicion, Geralt really was an open book with those he loved and trusted. Jaskier had a very different idea of what secrets in a relationship meant. 

“What’s that, love?” 

Geralt giggled as he traced the edges of a magnolia on the back of Jaskier’s wrist, “That is the way I love you.”

Luckily for Jaskier’s car, they were rolling up to a stop sign. He had time to loose his breath for a moment and fight back the initial feeling of shame and anger with himself before he pulled his hand away and gripped the steering wheel as he punched the gas. 

Through gritted teeth, he said the gentlest thing he could think of, “We don’t kiss in the rain.”

Geralt frowned, almost pouted at him, “I still love you.”

A part of Jaskier wanted to scream at Geralt, another part wanted to pull over and make him walk home, thankfully the loudest part reminded him the idiot was just drunk. He didn’t know what he was saying and he thought he was being sweet. There was also a good possibility he would cry himself to sleep in the passenger seat if Jaskier yelled at him and last time he tried to carry Geralt to bed his back hurt for a week. 

“I love you too,” Jaskier sighed as he pulled into their parking spot. 

He didn’t sleep well that night. Not because his sweaty, smelly, and fidgety boyfriend clung to him in his sleep, but because he couldn’t stop thinking about the ride home. 

Jaskier had lived in relationships like that for most of his adult life. Hell, even in his teens. They were nothing but all consuming passion with no connection to support it and left both parties jaded and lost. When he left his mentor he’d sat in Yen’s chair for hours and hours, until his arm had gone numb, and the only thing he could think was ‘never again’. 

And now Geralt thought he was being cute. The ridiculously meticulous and serious man was only ever sappy when he got drunk and now instead of reveling in it like he’d like, Jaskier was staring at the clock on his nightstand calculating how exhausted he’d be in the morning as the minutes ticked by. 

Turns out, he was at least in the land of the living by the time Geralt shuffled into the kitchen with his hands in his hair and a pained expression. 

“Feel like shit.”

Jaskier hummed in agreement as he sipped his morning tea and shifted in his seat to see better out the window. 

After popping a few anti-inflammatories and nibbling on a cracker before giving up on food, Geralt lumbered up behind Jaskier and draped his arms over his shoulders, “What’s wrong?”

“S’nothing. I’m just being… touchy.”

Geralt pressed a light kiss over the hellebore tattoo on Jaskier’s neck, “I doubt it.”

Tears threatened to spill from his eyes as Jaskier laid his hand over Geralt’s arm across his chest, “I don’t want to lose this.”

“Why…? What makes you think you would?” Geralt was a little slower on the draw hungover, but he knelt next to Jaskier’s chair and rested a hand on his knee as he waited for a response. He only ever looked so worried when Roach had an abscess and it broke Jaskier’s heart. He didn’t want to say it and ruin everything. 

After a deep breath in, he mumbled out his answer, “Do you really love me like that song?”

“What song?” Geralt breathed, his thumb brushing back and forth over Jaskier’s knee.

“The uh, Way I Loved You one.”

Geralt searched his face for a beat, the crease between his eyebrows only deepening, “Of course I do.”

“Fuck,” Jaskier breathed, biting his lip to keep it from wobbling as he forced all the air from his lungs in the hopes it would do something to stop the tears from falling. When it was clear he would lose the battle he leaned forward with his elbows on the table, hiding his face in his hands.

“You… don’t want me to?” Geralt sounded close to tears himself, but he didn’t take his hand off Jaskier’s thigh. 

“No- yes! No?” Jaskier sniffed and wiped at his face but didn’t lean back to look at Geralt, “I- Geralt I can’t just fill a hollow relationship with lust. We ha- I thought we had more? But if you want the- the fights and the hate fucking- I don’t- Geralt I don’t want that. Not with anyone but not with you. Ne-”

“Hey, hey,” Geralt tugged at Jaskier’s arm, gathering him to his chest when the brunette melted into sobs, “I don’t want that. That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry, love. I’m so sorry I let you think that.” He cradled Jaskier’s head to his shoulder, pressing kisses into his hair between softly spoken apologies and reassurances. They stayed there until Jaskier’s tea went cold and his sobs were closer to little gasps. 

Eventually, Jaskier lifted his head and met Geralt’s eyes, “H-how do you love me?”

Geralt licked his lips, his voice barely above a whisper, “Not- It’s not hollow.”

Jaskier squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his forehead to Geralt’s, “Please?”

One of Geralt’s hands came up to cup Jaskier’s cheek as he took a deep breath, “I’ve never loved anyone like I love you… I never wanted to be romantic with anyone until you. You… You make me feel… safe. I’m never bored of you or numb or sick of you. This is the first relationship I’ve had where I bother to fight, Jask. I love you so much it makes me do things I never thought to do and I’m glad and I never want to change anything about us. Never.” 

A shiver ran down Jaskier’s spine as relief flooded his whole body. His throat ached from crying and his shoulders were sore from holding all that tension in a way they hadn’t for years, but he’d never felt so good. Geralt loved him. Him. Not some tumultuous relationship or the sex or the drama of it all. Someone finally loved him for him. 

It hadn’t really hit Jaskier till then. They’d said ‘I love you’, sure, but he hadn’t really believed Geralt, just like he’d stopped believing the string of selfish lovers before him. 

“Thank Mellitelle,” Jaskier laughed, just on this side of hysterical as he tightened his grip around Geralt’s shoulders, “I fucking love how boring we are. And you. Fuck I really really do love you.”

“Even when I smell like my regulars?” Geralt teased, intentionally huffing a little extra and dosing Jaskier in his horrendous hangover morning breath.

Jaskier wrinkled his nose but smiled and kissed him anyway, “Of course.”

“Mhh,” Geralt pulled away for a moment, brushing his thumb over Jaskier’s crows feet in a silent request for him to open his eyes, “Can we go back to bed?”

“The crying does it for you, huh?” Jaskier chuckled, his voice was still weak but his laugh was genuine.

“I’m so dizzy, Jask,” squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head ever so slightly, Geralt plopped back onto his heels. If Jaskier hadn’t witnessed just how much he drank he’d say he was lying, but Jaskier was truly surprised he’d even climbed out of bed this morning.

“Mkay, up. Back to bed then.”

They settled under the blankets and tangled themselves back together. Geralt hummed, closing his eyes and squeezing Jaskier a little tighter.

New, happier tears threatened at the corners of his eyes but he pushed them down, opting to trace the corner of Geralt’s buttercup tattoo peeking out of his shirt, “I love you.”

Geralt took a deep breath in before he sighed out a rumbling, “I know.”

“No, Geralt. Really,” Jaskier laid his hand over the yellow and green ink, “I’ve said these words more times than I can count but I don’t think I ever really understood them until you.”

“Jaski-”

“I love you,” Jaskier’s interruption was far smaller and far more fragile than he had intended. His words just continued to spill out, “You’re steady and calm and I’ve never had that. I don’t know what it’s supposed to be like and I’m constantly scared I’m gonna fuck it up…”

Comforting fingers ran through his hair as Geralt murmured his reply, “Me too,” Jaskier just squeezed his shoulder in a bit of solidarity and a bit of selfish comfort, “But I think we’re doing alright…”

“Why’s that?”

“Well,” Geralt started, shifting so he was practically engulfing Jaskier, “we both still love each other, and...” his boyfriend pinched him when he trailed off, pretending to fall asleep in a way that always mad Jaskier giggle, “Ow- and you use the hooks by the front door.” 

“I do, don’t I?” Jaskier sniffled, “And you used your words.”

“I’d use all the words for you.”

“All of them?”

Geralt really was drifting away this time, his words coming slowly as his arms relaxed and Jaskier felt their full weight over him, “Not well, but I would...” 

[reidgraygubler]

take care (lesley smith-juniment/gender-neutral!reader)

Title: take care Requested: no Couple: lesley smith-juniment/gender-neutral!reader Category: fluff Content Warning: drinking, drunken shenanigans, there was only one bed trope, reader throws up, talks about sex (but it doesn’t happen, just talked about) Word Count: 2641 Summary: Lesley takes care of reader after they had too much to drink A/N: this was written for @imagining-in-the-margins only one bed challenge! This is the first time i’ve written lesley, so bear with me! I appreciate you <3 i really hope you guys enjoy this :D check out my masterlist!

{***}{***}{***}

I should have realized how much I had to drink the night before. My head was absolutely pounding and my whole body was killing me. I hardly remember what I did last night. It was just one shot of tequila too many, and then everything was gone.

Damn tequila… And damn my friends for buying shots. At least I wasn’t too much of an embarrassment. Or at least I thought. Drunk me is very, very different than sober me. Drunk me was the life of the party, sober me was not.

I wish I could remember what I did the night before. Lesley was there, and Summer was there. And… Summer’s finance joined, too... I do, however, remember Lesy trying to stop me from drinking but… He’s not my babysitter.

Or… Was he?

My body instantly popped up as I realized I wasn’t in my own room. It was a hotel room, but it wasn’t mine. It was… It was Lesley’s. His boots and clothing neatly set to the side easily told me it was his room.

But it was also him asleep beside me that told me it was his room. Lesley was on the total edge of the bed, on top of the sheets, and his back facing me. I knew he’s never slept in the same bed as another person before, but the least he could have done was act like it was fine.

I tumbled out of the bed, nearly falling to the floor. It was quite the surprise when I realized I was wearing just a shirt (which belonged to Lesley) and underwear. No wonder he was on top of the sheets, and on the extreme edge of the bed.

“Fuck,” I whispered as I searched the room for my clothes. My shirt and pants were thrown around, and my shoes were hiding under the bed. I hope nothing bad happened last night. And by bad I mean I didn’t actually say or do anything… inappropriate.

“Are you okay?” Lesley asked after a moment of silence. I looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. “I just… I heard you fall off the bed, and I’m sure you have a killer hangover. You had like… A whole bottle of tequila with Summer,” he nervously chuckled as he looked at me. I looked back at him with wide eyes.

“Yeah, yeah I’m okay. Headache would be correct,” I nervously laughed as I lifted a hand to hold my head. “I was just about to go find… Bacon! Bacon and grease and water and… Yeah, it helps hangovers.” I looked down at the ground.

“It’s probably too late for shitty continental breakfast, right?” Lesley asked as he slipped out of the bed. I stared at him for a moment.

“Probably… I was just going to go to the Denny’s down the street,” I muttered as I gestured in the vague direction of the breakfast restaurant.

“Can I… go with?”

“Yeah, of course you can, Les,” I answered with a smile. Although my smile felt disingenuous. Maybe that’s what I meant. I still don’t know who I was last night, I could have done anything…

Our journey to the Denny’s was pretty silent. I must have been real bad last night if Lesley didn't say anything. It wasn’t till I had my coffee and breakfast sitting in front of me that I said anything.

“Can… Can you tell me what exactly happened last night?” I asked, as I dumped the two sugar packets into my coffee. Lesley looked at me with a raised brow. “Like you said… Whole bottle of tequila,” I chuckled.

And then he told me… {***}{***}{***}

Drinks… That was exactly what I needed. Work sucked, home sucked, life sucked, everything sucked. So I needed drinks, because drinking fixes everything. I shouldn’t say that. That’s not true, but drinking can fix a lot.

Summer and her fiance had invited Lesley out for drinks. Which in turn, Lesley asked me to join them. I couldn’t say no to Lesley. To be honest, I wouldn’t have gone had Lesley not invited me. Sure, Summer is one of my greatest friends. But I hated her fiance, Bradley… I wasn’t the only one who hated him though. Lesley hated him just as much, if not more. We had our different reasonings though. I hated him simply because he was a dick, and Summer was amazing.

It was hard to say just how many actual drinks I had, and I lost count of how many shots were consumed. But the majority were done between me and Summer. We were both so far gone, but we were having fun. So who cares?

To answer my own question, Lesley. Lesley cared because he’s my best friend. Of course he’d care. He cared about our safety more than Bradley did. Bradley was too busy drinking himself to notice Summer or me.

I think I was just drinking so excessively to get his attention, too. He was so busy pining over Summer that he didn’t realize I was right in front of him. My plan did work, though. I had most certainly gotten his attention as I stumbled up to the bar and ordered another round of shots for Summer and I. Summer was somewhere, dancing with a bunch of strangers while I did this. She was the one who said get more shots.

“Hey Pal… Are-Are you okay?” Lesley asked as he appeared by my side. I lowered my margarita glass to the counter as I looked at him. I hated the way that he looked motion blurred as I stared at him. The world around him was moving a touch too fast for me to pay attention to him.

“I-I’m fucking great, Les! Fucking awesome!” My words came out like a slurred mess. There was no apparent lie in my words. I felt awesome. It was the tequila talking. “I think… I think it’s time for another shot! You want one?!” I shouted as I turned back to face the bar.

“No, no! I don’t want one. I think we should go. Get you back to the hotel so you can-”

“You want to leave!? Lesley! Tonight’s the night, Dude! We can’t leave! What if we died tomorrow?!” I shouted as I turned back to him. My hands found their way to his shoulders and I looked at him. “We can’t leave now!”

“I think we should,” Lesley retorted as he grabbed my arms. I stared at him before looking over at my drink. I grabbed it and drank the rest of it in one go.

“Okay now we can go.” I looked back at him. Lesley stared at me with a worried crease between his brows, causing me to smirk. I was too far gone, and he knew that. I was about to make his life a hell, and I couldn’t help it. That’s how it was when I was drunk, though. He played the concerned friend (but he’s always concerned), and I was the drunken toddler.

“Alright, c’mon,” he mumbled as he wrapped his arm around my waist. I stumbled away from the bar counter. I was thankful that Lesley kept his arm around me because I was sure to fall without him. He was always there to pick me up whenever I fell.

Maybe that’s why I liked Lesley so much. And not just as a friend. He cared about me in ways other people haven’t ever cared for me. Sure, Summer cared about me… But she’s not the one making sure I get back to the hotel safely.

“We’re not gonna say bye to Summer and Bradley?” I asked as Lesley brought us towards the exit of the bar. I looked over my shoulder to see Summer still dancing away with the strangers while Bradley flirted with other women at the bar.

“I told Bradley we were leaving,” Lesley muttered once we were finally outside. I took a deep breath of the fresh and cool air. It was so vastly different from the muggy air inside the bar.

“But I wanna say bye to Summer!” I exclaimed as Lesley took the lead towards the hotel. It was already too late because I had said that when we were blocks away from the bar.

“You can tell her where we went in the morning when you see her,” Lesley looked down at me. I sighed and rolled my eyes. Again, Lesley cared about me and I was grateful for that. I probably wouldn’t have ended up at the hotel if he didn’t take me now.

As I stumbled down the sidewalk, with Lesley’s arm around me, I rambled about everything, while at the same time nothing. Random things that didn’t matter, or silly things that crossed my mind. I didn’t even notice when Lesley just replied with the same three responses: ‘mhmm’, ‘oh really?’, ‘that’s funny’. I’m sure he had given up on holding a conversation with me. I’d do the same thing.

Somewhere between halfway and almost at the hotel, I forgot where we were going. But I was too afraid to ask him till we were inside the hotel lobby, waiting for the elevator.

“Where are we?” I murmured as I hung off Lesley’s shoulder. He looked down at me before looking back at the elevator doors.

“The hotel…”

“Are we going to your room?” I giggled as I threw my arms around his neck.

“I-Uh…”

“PUH-lease?” I begged as he took a step forward. A squeal came from me as he began dragging me towards the elevator.

“Okay! Okay! We can go to my room. I can sleep on the floor, or the armchair.” “Yay!” I jumped off his body and clapped my hands together. Lesley laughed nervously as he helped me into the elevator. “But… But why do you have to sleep on the floor or the armchair?”

“B-Because!” He shouted as he pressed the button to his floor. I squinted as I looked at him. “I shouldn’t have to have a reason.”

“Wait… Wait… Lesley, have you… Have you ever shared a bed with someone?” I looked up at him before batting my eyelashes. Lesley’s body stiffened as he looked at the scratchy silver elevator doors. I smiled as I threw my arms around his middle. “Am I taking your bed sharing ver-ginny-titty?”

“No, you’re not. I’ve shared beds with my moms.”

“That doesn’t count, Lessy. You know that,” I looked up at him with a smile. “I thought you’ve had sex before!?” I shouted as the elevator doors slid open. Two older women were standing on the other side. They heard me yell something about sex.

“Stop… Talking,” Lesley said in a harsh whisper as he looked at me.

“But! How have you never shared a bed with someone if you’ve had sex before!?” I continued to shout as Lesley pulled me off the elevator.

“Have a nice night,” he said as he looked at the older ladies. I looked at them and waved as he dragged me down the hall. “I have had sex. But…” Lesley stopped talking as he began looking for the room key. I stared at him, waiting for the rest of his answer. “I haven’t slept in the same bed as someone,” he finally finished once the key card was in his hand.

“H-How do you-”

“It just happened.”

Lesley looked at me as he unlocked the door. I smiled as he pulled me into the room. If he wasn’t holding onto me, I would have stumbled into the room and fell right to the floor. But since he was holding me, he caught me and held me upright. I looked over at him with a smile.

“So I am taking your bed sharing ver-ginny-titty,” I cackled before stumbling away from him. Lesley watched me as I approached this single queen bed. The bedding was still perfectly made, no sign of human life was seen in this room. Give or take the small suitcase sitting by the desk and a few toiletries in the bathroom.

That was until I was sitting on the bed… throwing up on the floor and my feet. Once the contents of my stomach made its home on the floor, I fell back and groaned.

“I’m so sorry, Lesley. I frew up.” I threw a hand over my face once I realized what had just happened. I could feel Lesley’s anger from my spot on the bed.

“It’s okay. I’m gonna… I’ll clean it up.” His voice was soft as he spoke. I knew he was mad, but to be fair, if someone had thrown up in my hotel room I’d be pissed, too.

I stayed quiet as Lesley worked on cleaning up the mess. Part of me wished I could do something to help, but I’d probably make it a bigger mess than it already is.

Once he was done cleaning, he sat on the opposite end of the bed and looked over at me.

“Can you go to sleep?”

“I don’t know. Can you go to sleep, Wes-wee?” I looked up at him as I readjusted so I was in the bed properly. He looked at me with an obvious tired expression in his eyes. I looked away from him before going under the covers. “Yeah, I can go to sleep,” I whispered as I shifted closer to him. “I love you, Lesley,” I sighed deeply into his chest before passing out.

{***}{***}{***}

“Oh my god, I’m never drinking again.” I pressed both my hands to my face and let out a deep, resigned sigh. Lesley nervously laughed, causing me to look up at him.

“Do you really like me though?” he asked before taking another bite from his pancakes. I froze, my fork stabbed in a pancake. The syrup oozed out of the sides as if it was blood. It was unfortunate that I was probably not going to finish my food. I was really looking forward to pancakes, too.

“I like you a lot more than you think, Lesley,” I nervously laughed again before looking down at my coffee. It was mostly gone anyway, and I wished I had more. “And have since I started working for you.”

“Oh…” He looked back down at his coffee cup. I looked between him and my mostly empty cup, feeling my heart race. “Really?” he asked, searching for confirmation. I swallowed roughly before nodding lightly.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“Uh, well, you’re sort of my boss,” I breathed out a laugh before shaking my head. “Little bad when it comes to serious things and don't want to lose this job or you… But I guess because I was fucking drunk last night and told you everything, I don’t care that much,” I rambled and rolled my eyes. I lifted my mug to my lips, only to be disappointed by cold coffee, which consisted mostly of grounds.

“You didn’t want to take a risk?” “Considering I was the first person you ever shared a bed with, Lesley, you shouldn’t preach to the choir.” I glanced at him. Lesley lifted his hands in defeat. I laughed lightly and shrugged. “Like I said, I didn’t want to lose you. So I didn’t want to take that risk.”

“You want to know what would have happened if you had taken that risk?”

“I think about all the outcomes… Mostly the bad because that always happens to me,” I laughed again.

“I would have told you I loved you too,” Lesley said as he reached across the table. I looked down at my hands just as his clasped over mine. I stared at them for a moment before looking up at him.

“Really?” I asked for confirmation.

“Yeah.”

{***}{***}{***}

if you have any comments about this one-shot, let me know here i'd love to hear what you thought!

[avengerscompound]

Moving On - Chapter 4

Moving On: A Falcon & Captain Marvel Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Sam Wilson x F!Reader, Carol Danvers x F! Reader

Word Count:  2107

Rating:  E

Warnings:  Smut (MF, oral sex, vaginal sex, accidental exhibitionism/voyeurism)

Synopsis:  You thought Sam Wilson was the love of your life.  You had planned to do it all with him - marriage, kids, see the world.  Even when you’re life gets turned upside down, and you both end up international fugitives, he’s there by your side.

Then Thanos comes.

When Sam is one of the many turned to dust, leaving you alone and pregnant, you don’t think you’ll ever stop grieving.  Yet, everyone tells you that Sam would want you to move on and live your life - that he’d want you to be happy. Gradually you open your heart up to another.  Carol Danvers has lost people too.  First her daughter, then her wife.  As the two of you lean on each other, feelings grow and you move on together.

So what happens when Sam is returned to you?

Chapter 4: On the Run

It is strange how quickly your whole world can change.  One minute you’re planning a wedding and living in the Avengers Compound in Upstate New York, an official agent for the Avengers.  The next you’re considered a war criminal and you’re on the run with your fiance and three other people, one of them who happened to be Captain America.

It had been like a slow-motion car wreck watching everything go wrong.  First, there was a completely unnecessary fight against your friends in the airport because no one wanted to listen to each other.  Then you’d been arrested by people who you’d once considered not just friends, but family.  Then you’d been shipped off to some secret supermax prison in the ocean for enhanced individuals with no trial, even though you weren’t enhanced.  Then Steve Rogers had busted you out and you’d ended up on the run.

You were with Sam though, and you’d rather be with him on the run knowing you were on the right side of the fight than safe in New York alone.

You’d all been trying to make the most of your time working as vigilantes.  There had been a lot of alien tech ending up in the hands of criminal organizations and Steve had been leading your little band of merry men to go and get it back.

Things weren’t easy for any of you.  There was a lack of money coming in and everyone had had to quickly withdraw their entire savings before the government blocked all of their accounts.  Thankfully Steve’s pension from the army had accrued a lot since he’d been lost at sea, but he hadn’t been able to withdraw all of it.

It had meant that a lot of the income came down to you, as out of everyone - you were the least recognizable.  Yes, there were alerts out for you, but you were a spy - you knew how to disguise yourself and you knew where to find under-the-counter work when needed.

The trick was never staying in the same place for long and returning to countries that didn’t sign the accords.  Even those weren’t safe for long - Ross was not above sending people into countries illegally to detain people who he was hunting - Bruce Banner was a testament to that - but they were safe for a little while and meant that once a month rather than sleep in the stolen Quinn, you could splash out and get a hotel.  Although you were pretty sure that Wanda was often sleeping in hotels - with Vision most likely - anytime she said she needed to have some alone time.

You woke up and stretched on the cold metal floor of the Quinn, your spine popping loudly.  Sam shifted in close to you, his arm draping over your sternum and his hand resting on your neck so his fingertips lightly caressed your jaw.  “Was wondering when you were gonna wake up,” he murmured.

“Is it late?”  You asked, blinking your eyes in the dark of the jet.  There was light coming in through the cockpit window, but it was low and you couldn’t tell if that was because it was early or just overcast outside.

“Not particularly,” he said, his hand running down your neck and over your collarbone.  “You just normally sleep like shit in the Quin.”

“Who says I didn’t,” you grumbled, rolling in toward him, and breathing him in.  There was an acrid sting to his scent thanks to the fact that neither of you had showered for a few days.  You were all due for a trip to somewhere remote with beds and good water pressure.  Steve had said maybe going back to Wakanda for a few weeks was in order.  He didn’t like to go too often because T’Challa had already extended himself above and beyond anything that was fair to ask of him just by harboring Bucky.  But it had been over six months since any of you had been there, and you had accumulated a lot of alien technology that you knew Shuri would love to get her hands on.

Sam chuckled and his hands ran down to yours, linking your fingers together, and playing with the engagement ring that sat on your finger.  “What if we just get married in Wakanda?”

You looked up into his eyes.  They looked black in the dim light and when he smiled at you, the corners of them crinkled slightly.  “I’m not sure that’s what you really want,” you said.  “Don’t you want Sarah to be there?  And the kids?”

Sam frowned.  Sarah’s kids had been two and four years old when you’d gone on the run and every month that he missed of their lives hurt him.  He’d been sending money back to his sister to keep the family business running back when you’d both had actual jobs, but these days he was barely scraping by himself.

He sighed and nuzzled into your neck.  “I just want us to start our lives together.”

“I know, but life had other plans,” you said.  “I love you and I don’t need to get married to know that.  It’s not going to change anything.  We will still be on the run and we won’t be able to build a stable life and have kids.”

Sam sighed and leaned his forehead against you.  “I know, but I want you to be my wife.”

“I am your wife,” you said.

“Not legally,” he said.

“We don’t do anything legally at the moment,” you said, playfully.  When Sam didn’t laugh, you sighed and wrapped your arms around him.  “Sam,” you said.  “If you really want to get married in Wakanda, I’ll do it.  I’m sure I can get something nice to wear together, and Nat and Wanda can be my bridesmaids.  I’m sure given how close we’ve all gotten they would be who I’d have picked anyway.  Just like I know you’d have Steve be your best man.  But I know you.  This isn’t really what you want.  You want the big wedding down in Louisiana like you always planned.  With the catering done using fish that were caught by your family’s trawler and you want AJ and Cass to be our little ring bearers.  And I know… I know that if you do this - if we get married in Wakanda without Sarah, she’ll murder you. She will murder you and then disown you post humus.”

Sam started laughing.  “Yeah, she will.”

“Sam, I love you.  I’m yours, no matter what,” you said.

“I know,” he replied with a sigh.  “I know we’re doing the right thing now.  I mean - Tony can get all on his high horse about how important the accords were, but he still broke them immediately.  That fucking kid he brought to the fight is still breaking the accords and living his best life.  I just… I wish we could have both.”

“So do I,” you said.  “I hope they come around, but I’m scared that the thing that makes them realize how wrong they are is gonna be real bad.  Like; world-ending bad.”

“Yeah, me too,” Sam said.  “Which is why I’m doing this.”

“So, what do you want to do?  You asked.

“I guess… we can wait,” Sam relented.  “But maybe we can see if there’s any way we could do something small that we could sneak Sarah to?  Like … she goes to the Maldives and who just happens to be there getting married?”

“They’ll be watching her,” you said.

“Yeah, I know,” he said.  “But we can look into it.”

“Yeah, okay,” you agreed.  “We’ll look into it.”

Sam leaned in and kissed you deeply.  You wrapped your arms around his shoulders and pulled him down on top of you, so the full weight of his body pressed down on the cold metal floor of the jet.

Sam groaned softly and rolled his hips, his cock starting to harden against your thigh.  “Where’s Steve?” you mumbled against his lips as he continued to kiss you.  He was currently the only unknown factor as Wanda was on another of her ‘retreats’ and Natasha was dealing with some ‘personal things’ that she wouldn’t tell the rest of you about.  He pulled back and smirked down at you.  “Why?  You want him to watch?”

“No,” you giggled, smacking his arm.  “I want the opposite of that.”

Sam laughed and nuzzled at your neck, pushing his hands up under your sleep shirt. “On his morning run.  Just you and me, baby.”

You kissed him again - more frantic this time, and your hands dug into his shoulders.  Sam began to squeeze and massage your breast as he ground down against you, sending a warm buzz through your body.  He began to move down your body, taking his time to both undress you and kiss every part of you.  By the time he was crouched between your spread legs, your whole body prickled like a live wire.

He gripped your thigh with one hand and reached up and began massaging your breast with the other as he dipped his head down and began lapping at your cunt.  You moaned and arched your back, gripping his bicep with one hand as you reached over your head with the other.  A hot current ran through you as Sam focused on your clit, sucking and nipping at it as he squeezed your breast.  He moaned into your cunt, the sound sending vibrations through you.  You slowly fell apart under him, writhing as a coil of hot pleasure wound itself tightly in your core.  Sam thrust two of his fingers inside you, and as soon as they hit that sweet spot inside you you cried out loudly and came hard, your whole body shuddering as your orgasm crashed through you.

Sam sat up onto his knees and looked at you.  “Gonna have to be a little quieter,” he said tapping your thigh.  “Steve’s got pretty good hearing you know.”

You scrunched up your face.  “Maybe you need to gag me.”

Sam chuckled and bit his bottom lip as you got on our hands and knees.  Even on the bedroll, your knees were going to hate you after this, but right now you didn’t care at all.  Sam moved up behind you, held onto your hips, and thrust hard into you.  You stumbled forward a little but managed to catch yourself on the cargo trunk in front of you.  He began to fuck you hard immediately, not even waiting to steady yourself.  You cried out and clenched around him as it felt like a hot shard tore through you.

Sam leaned over you, kissing your neck and shoulder, as he put his hand over your mouth.  “Hush now,” he growled in your ear.  “You don’t want to wake up the whole forest.”

You moaned into his hand and opened your mouth, letting him push two of his fingers inside for you to suck on.  He railed into you, his hips moving quickly and erratically as your bodies slapped together.  You tried to bounce back on him, adding to the pleasure coursing through you, but it wasn’t long until your arms gave out and you were helpless under him as your orgasm built.

As his hips began to stutter, Sam wrapped his arm around your waist and began to rub your clit.  It was all it took for the dam inside you to burst.  You buried your face in your arm and cried out as you came, clenching around Sam’s cock.  He began to thrust even more erratically as he chased his own release and with a jerk and a low groan he came, releasing inside you.

You let yourself flop completely on the floor, breathing heavily and feeling a little high on endorphins.  “You think Steve is out there and heard us?”  You asked as Sam lay back down next to you and kissed your shoulder.

“Caught the tail end of the show!” Steve yelled, his voice muffled through the jet walls.

You and Sam both broke down into peels of laughter and you hid your face in Sam’s chest.

“Get a move on, would you?!” Steve yelled.  “We have a lot to do today.”

You laughed even harder and Sam held you close, pressing a kiss to your forehead.  “Come on, duty calls,” he chuckled.

You let him help you up and the two of you both started cleaning yourselves up the best way you could.  You hoped to god that Steve would say it was time for a break soon, but in the meantime, you were glad you were here with Sam.

// NEXT

[13uswntimagines]

McFiance (Sam x Reader)

Requested by @hales548​  : R is a basketball player (who is taller than Sam by a few inches). They are also teammates with Sue Bird on Team USA. The USWNT have a day off on the day of the gold medal match for the basketball team. Sam suggests that the team goes to support the women's basketball team during their game. Reader surprises Sam after receiving their medal by proposing in front of both their teams and the world. Lots of fluffy happy moments.

Author’s Note: First and Foremost Happy Birthday my dude! I hope you have an awesome Day!! @literaryhedgehog​ and I had a lot of fun writing this (and it gave us an idea for another one...) so i really hope you enjoy it!

“So are we just going to pretend that you didn’t drag us here to watch Mchottie shoot baskets?” 

Sam almost missed Sonnett’s comment, watching as her girlfriend did a layup, her eyes following the ink that accentuated her bicep. and tricep. General arm area. God, her girlfriend’s arms were amazing. Delectable. Heaven‘s gift to her…? She didn’t care if that was overkill, the fact was her girlfriend had some beautiful arm muscles perfectly outlined by the tattoos Sam loved to trace with her fingers whenever she had the opportunity. 

“Sonnett if you keep talking during the game you’ll miss something. I’m not explaining why someone’s doing a free throw if you miss the foul again.” Megan said, elbowing the blond defender and glaring in her direction. You had spent months planning this, and the blinds complaining wasn’t about to mess this up. 

“You’re just pouting cause Mcsexie came off after the half,” Emily huffed, rubbing her arm. 

“This isn’t a fucking Grey’s anatomy episode, every player doesn’t need a nickname with a mick,” Tobin laughed, shaking her head at Sam, who still hadn’t looked away from you. She was glad the tall blond had found love like she had found Christen. Sam lit up when she was around you and vice versa, you completed each other and made a hella cute couple (and took amazing couples photos helped by your 3 inches over Sam). 

“And I would actually appreciate it if you didn’t nickname my fiance ‘Mcsexie.’” Megan said, offhandedly. “For starters it’s demeaning, but also, I mean come on. You know Sue and Y/n, you’ve met their teammates, you can’t just call them the stupid nicknames you give literally every other girl to annoy your girlfriend.” 

“SWOOSH” several people in the crowd said interrupting the conversation. Emily jumped, not expecting 

“Fuck yeah, that’s my Mchottie,” Sam yelled, standing from her seat as you got a 3 pointer in seconds before the buzzer went off. Then the ref blew their whistle and the two coaches ran across the court. 

“Why can Sam call her Mchottie and I can’t?” Emily whined, missing the worried looks Megan was sending Sam’s way when you didn’t pop back up. 

“Not the time babe, Y/n just got fouled,” Lindsey said softly, leaning close to her girlfriend so she could hear, placing a hand on the defender’s thigh to calm down her boisterousness slightly. 

One of your teammates gave you a hand up and you stood in a group of your teammates, waiting to hear the call. You were pretty sure you knew what it was going to be, considering the defender had smacked you in the face as they tried to get the ball. You had still gotten the points, and fallen back just like you trained to do (so you didn’t accidentally foul your defender back) but they could have decided it was accidental. It probably was accidental- you did have several inches on the girl defending you. Still, it was unnecessary contact and you grinned as the ref beckoned you to take your place at the free-throw line.

“That was a world-class flop, I bet she took lessons from you, Pino,” Tobin snorted as you stepped up to the line. 

“Nah, she got it from Sue. I do a bit more rolling to really get my point across,” Megan shrugged, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth. 

“She’s got the best stats in the league, there’s no way that she’s going to miss these,” Sam mumbled, more to herself than the rest of the group. You worked your ass off to be the best, spent hours taking shots from the line for moments just like that. You were the best for a reason, and now you just had to show it off. 

Emily rolled her eyes. Your team was up by 16, so there was no way you were going to lose no matter what the outcome of these next three shots were (an opinion she thought better to not voice considering the death grip Sam had on her seat). 

She looked around to see rows of people in the audience raising their hands in the air as you lined up to take your first shot. 

“SWOOSH!”

*****

Your grin was blinding as you bent to accept your metal, your eyes glued to your girlfriend rather than the commissioner placing the gold around your neck. It was only now that you felt the butterflies bloom in your belly, fluttering excitedly. You had been dead calm about the game but terrified of what you had planned for after. 

What if she said no? Everyone, you knew assured you she wouldn’t, but what if it was too soon? You had both talked about the future as though there would be one, and while you hadn’t specifically said ‘hey Sam, I want to marry you’ you were pretty sure she knew. Unless she didn’t.

“You better take a deep breath before you pass out kid,” Sue’s voice broke through your internal ramble, her warm hand on your shoulder grounding you back in reality. You blinked at the veteran’s kind eyes, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. 

“Good, now I think you’ll need this yeah?” She smiled, passing you the tiny ring box. You clutched it tightly, running your thumb over the velvet. Some people said it was corny, but you wanted everything to be perfect. To fulfill the dream your girlfriend had in her head since she was a little girl. 

You took another deep breath, squaring your shoulders and swaggering over to the group of soccer players staring at you from the sidelines. 

“Hey superstar,” You smiled, engulfing your girlfriend in a very sweaty hug, ignoring the gagging noises from the blond defender behind her. 

“Hi goldie,” Sam said, giggling. “Or do you prefer just plain ‘winner’?”

“Hmm, you can call me anything you like baby,” You said, pulling back, suddenly feeling all the bravado and swagger you had on the court fill you. “as long as you let me call you my wife,” You finished, dropping to one knee and pulling out the ring. 

“Oh my god,” Sam breathed, looking down at you. 

You gulped, your mouth suddenly feeling very dry.“I’m not really sure how I’m supposed to do this, but I really fucking love you. You’re my first thought in the morning, and at night and like a billion times in between. Every time anything happens, you’re the one I want to tell.  I want to share everything with you. Every experience, every moment, every win, and every loss with you for the rest of my life. So, will you marry me?” 

You blinked up at the woman in earnest, waiting with bated breath for her answer. Sam opened and closed her mouth a few times, and just as you thought she was going to respond, Emily gasped. “I thought it was supposed to be a ring pop?”

“Sonnet!” Megan and Sam said at the same time, both turning to glare at her 

“What?” Emily said, “you always joked that diamond rings were overrated and that a ring pop...” going quiet at Lindsey’s “just shut up” look. 

“Well,” you said, clearing your throat as you drew the attention back to yourself, “as you can see it’s not a ring pop. Or a diamond. It’s a very pretty green onyx ring that I would like to give my girlfriend/fiance…”

“Just shut up and kiss me,” Sam said, cutting off your rambling, grabbing the front of your jersey, and pulling you into a kiss. 

“Is this a yes?” You mumbled against her lips, your neck bent at an awkward angle and unsure what to do with your hands considering you still had the open ring box in your left and you didn’t want to drop the ring. 

“It’s a definitely,” she said, holding out her hand so you could slip the ring onto her finger. 

“Cool,” you said, grinning as you took just long enough to get the ring on her finger before she pulled you into another kiss, her fingers tango long in the baby hairs at the back of your neck, and your hands firmly grabbing her hips. 

You were so engrossed in your fiancé (and how great it felt to call her that) that you almost missed Emily asking “So like, they’re McFiances now right?” 

[visander]

A Cabbage Print Suit | Ao3. 

When Magnus woke Ragnor up in the middle of the night to give him the horrible suit he'd found, Magnus had truly expected that to be the end of it. He assumed he'd never see Ragnor actually wear the suit - until Ragnor showed up at Magnus' wedding, wearing it.

Ragnor & Magnus with a side of Malec, no warnings. This is my ‘Ragnor Ships It’ square for @shadowhunterbingo.

It was the late nineties when Magnus made a critical error, the one that would inevitably lead to the utter destruction of his wedding decades later. See, Magnus had always called Ragnor variations of ‘his cabbage’. One of Ragnor’s lovers had called him that once and when Magnus got wind of that, he’d never let it go. 

From that day forward, Ragnor was his cabbage. He’d say it affectionately, if Ragnor had done something uncharastically sweet. He’d say it angrily, the oftentimes when Ragnor’s less than pleasant side reared its head. It was funny and well, the green skin, the bitter off putting taste of cabbage itself - For obvious reasons the nickname had stuck and no matter what Ragnor did, you couldn’t make a nickname unstick after it had already latched on and gotten hold.

Ragnor was affectionately and otherwise known as Magnus’ cabbage there after. So, of course, when Magnus saw a cabbage suit, he had to buy it for him. How could Magnus possibly not? How could Magnus see that and then just leave the store empty handed? It was as if the gods had known Magnus would be in that store that day and they’d placed that ridiculous suit there just for Magnus to see and just for Magnus to buy, for Ragnor.

Of course, Magnus bought it. There wasn’t a universe in which Magnus’ didn’t buy it and after he bought it, he popped a portal open and went right to Ragnor’s home. It was the middle of the night when Magnus showed up, accounting for time zones and all but Magnus didn’t care. He’d come bearing a gift, one that simply could not wait until morning. 

Ragnor felt differently. Ragnor felt as if the cabbage suit Magnus excitedly thrust into his hands could very much wait until morning and he informed Magnus of this as he promptly kicked him out and yelled at him as he slammed the door.

Magnus never did see Ragnor wear the cabbage suit he’d so nicely picked out for him and for a long time, Magnus thought that was the end of it. Until decades later. Until Magnus invited Ragnor to perhaps one of the most important events in his very long life. 

His first ever and what was bound to be his only wedding. Now, Magnus had longed to see Ragnor wearing that stupid cabbage suit for so long but if there was a single event in all of history that Magnus would not want to see Ragnor wear it to, it was probably his wedding. The day he’d cherish photos of for the rest of his life, however long it may be. Magnus’ wedding was the day he’d look back on happily, if he had to choose a single day to do so.

Magnus’ wedding was probably the only date he’d dread seeing Ragnor wear that stupid fucking suit and Ragnor knew it. So, of course, Ragnor had shown up fashionably late. He’d thrown open the Institute doors nearly a full minute after the ceremony had started, making every single person in attendance turn to see who’d arrived so confidently, so late. 

And when Magnus looked up from his loving, soon to be husband's eyes, he’d seen Ragnor standing there with a bright uncharacteristic grin on his face. That alone had unsettled Magnus. Ragnor never grinned like that. He smiled, sure. He grimaced most often but Ragnor Fell did not grin, not ever. Except now, he was and when Magnus glanced down, he saw exactly why. 

Ragnor was wearing the suit. Magnus paled the moment he saw it but he wasn’t even sure why he was surprised. Of course, Ragnor was wearing the suit. What else would he wear to the most special day Magnus was bound to have in his life? Why would he wear something normal? Why even consider it, when Magnus had so graciously gifted him a suit like that?

Ragnor had the tact not to interrupt the rest of the ceremony any more than he already had. Magnus too tried to carry on but how could he look at his loving fiance when all he could see behind his eyes was Ragnor, wearing that suit? How could he focus on anything else?

They read their vows and when Alec leaned in and pressed his lips against Magnus’ own, he was thankfully granted a moment in his wedding in which he was not thinking about Ragnor but the moment Alec pulled away and they both turned to everyone in attendance, Magnus’ eyes could focus on no one else because there in the back was Ragnor and it had not been a nightmare, as Magnus had so desperately hoped because he was in fact still wearing the cabbage suit. Among all the very well dressed people in attendance, Ragnor stuck out like a sore thumb, his green skin only amplifying the glaring effect the suit seemed to have under the lights. 

Magnus forced his eyes away and he pretended to be unaffected but Ragnor could tell he’d done exactly what he’d come there to do. Ragnor could tell he’d won and Magnus, well Magnus didn’t like that at all. On his own wedding day, really? Ragnor couldn’t let him have his own wedding day without pulling a stunt like this?

Magnus avoided Ragnor as he and Alec made their rounds speaking to everyone and Ragnor didn’t rush towards him either. He seemed to be having a grant time talking to everyone, gesturing to his outfit occasionally before pointing to Magnus every once in a while, apparently telling everyone about the amazing gift Magnus had gotten him. 

At last, Magnus couldn’t avoid Ragnor any longer. At last, they made eye contact and Magnus downed the last of his drink before he let go of his husband’s hand and stalked over. “On my wedding day?” Magnus snapped, his words a viscous accusal. 

Ragnor smiled, gesturing to himself coyly. “You don’t like it?” He posed, faking shock.

“I got married today.” Magnus snapped, as if Ragnor might have possibly missed the event going on. “I married my husband today, my only husband and you pull this-”

Finally, Ragnor rolled his eyes, dropping the coy act. “You bought me the outfit, Magnus.”

“Yes, as a joke,” Magnus snapped instantly. “A funny humorous joke. You weren’t supposed to wear it to my wedding.” 

Ragnor scoffed softly, “Well, maybe you should have been more specific when you woke me up in the middle of the night to give it to me.”

Magnus fell silent for a long, agonizing moment and then he snapped appalled, “I got married today.” He repeated, furious.

“Yes, you seem rather worked up about it,” Ragnor responded, which sent Magnus turning away with a dramatic, aggravated flurious of his hands. Ragnor took a long sip of his drink as he watched him leave and when he felt a soft hand on his arm, he didn’t even need to look over to know who it was.

Still, Ragnor turned to glance towards her, trying to gauge if she found his antics funny or not. Normally, she would but it was Magnus’ wedding and all. Catarina was a hopeless romantic, when she wanted to be. Ragnor half expected her to smack him but instead, she leaned into his arm, sighing softly.

“It is his wedding, you know.” She murmured softly, “You could have chosen another day.” 

Ragnor gestured with his drink to the room around them, “Why choose another day when today was so perfect?”

For a moment, Catarina remained silent and Ragnor didn’t need to glance down to know who she was watching. Across the room, Magnus stood with his husband, talking animatedly about something (probably Ragnor) as Alec smiled and tried to sooth the tension in Magnus’ back with his palm.

“They’re good together,” Catarina said simply.

Ragnor had been busy recently. He hadn’t met the shadowhunter until a few weeks before but even he had to agree. Ragnor had never seen Magnus more happy with anyone else he’d ever been with. Magnus was utterly enamoured with the shadowhunter and that would worry Ragnor, if he couldn’t see that same love shining in the shadowhunter’s eyes right back at him.

“They are,” Ragnor said simply and he knew that his lack of a sarcastic quip said more than any more serious words Ragnor could try to find ever would. 

He and Catarina stood there for a long moment before she reached out and plucked the drink from Ragnor’s hand, taking a sip before she placed it down on the table next to him. “Let’s go dance in front of them and show off your outfit,” She said, grinning towards him suddenly.

Ragnor could do nothing but follow as she tugged him away.

[hockeylvr59]

The Best Christmas Gift || Jakob Chychrun

Requested: [ ] yes [x] no

Authors Note: This is another plot I’ve wanted to write for quite a while and Jakob is just so perfect for it. Unlike so many of my other stories, you cannot yell at me for a slow burn here. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. 

Warnings: a little nsfw content (fingering) kinda tossed in the middle of all the fluff, some cursing. 

Word Count: 5,247

~~~~~~

It's the most wonderful time of the year

There'll be much mistltoeing

And hearts will be glowing

When loved ones are near

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Unconsciously, your fingers pressed the buttons on the steering wheel to switch radio stations. 

I'll have a blue Christmas without you

I'll be so blue just thinking about you

Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree

Won't be the same, dear, if you're not here with me

Groaning, you just turned the radio off, letting silence fill the car. Today was one of those days where every song that came on the radio felt like a personal attack and while part of you wanted to throw up, another fought to blink back tears. 

As you pulled into your parents’ driveway, you noted that there were no lights, no decorations, nothing that screamed Christmas was only three days away. It was just another reminder of how shitty life could be. You weren’t even supposed to be here, you were supposed to be at a cabin in the mountains with your fiance and his family. The plans had been made back in July and when you’d told your parents, they had booked a trip to Alaska, a trip they had been wanting to go on for years. They’d left for that trip last week, a mere 48 hours before your world crumbled around you. 

You’d been out to dinner when your fiance Nick had asked for the ring back, declaring that he no longer wanted to get married, his expression so nonchalant, so unwilling to acknowledge that he was currently ripping your heart from your chest and stomping on it. You’d screamed, you’d cried, you’d made a hell of a scene but his mind was made up and so you left the restaurant leaving both the ring and the man you thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with behind. 

To make matters worse, you’d moved in with him when you’d gotten engaged and now, your childhood home was the only place you could turn. Nick had told you that you could stay in the apartment while he was in the mountains with his family but how were you supposed to sleep in the bed you’d shared, sit on the couch you’d watched so many movies together on knowing that all of it was a lie. Instead, you’d packed your bags, grabbing as much as you could and mentally saying screw the rest. 

As you finally shut off your car, you couldn’t help but muse that this was certainly going to be the suckiest Christmas yet. At least your parents had a heated pool and December temperatures in Florida meant that you could spend the next week working on a tan. Though your life had crumbled, at least by the time you went back to work you could at least look like you had your shit together. 

Slamming your car door shut, you moved to open the trunk when a familiar voice reached your ears. 

“Y/N! What are you doing here? You know your mom and dad are in Alaska right now right?” Nancy Chychrun was one of the sweetest women you had ever known and as she walked across the space between your driveways you felt the mask you were trying to hold in place start to slip. 

“Yeah, I know. I’m just going to hang out here by myself for a while.” You replied, rubbing your hands up and down your arm. 

“What happened to…?” Nancy started to question, her eyes going wide as she caught a glimpse of your now barren ring finger. “Oh, sweetheart.” She cooed, stepping forward to wrap you up in a big hug. Letting yourself bask in the motherly touch you’d been craving since the other night, you wrapped your arms around her in return, hugging tightly. When she pulled away she wiped the tears from your cheek before sending you a knowing look. “Well, we all know he’s an idiot.” She declared, her hands cupping your cheeks to ensure that you were alright. 

It was only as you were staring past her shoulder that you noticed their car was also open, being loaded up with suitcases. 

“We’re going to Arizona to have Christmas with Jakob.” She explained. “And you know what...you’re coming with us.” 

“Oh no...I couldn’t.” You immediately reacted, stepping back. “Truly I’ll be fine. Some time to decompress alone will be good for me.” You explained. 

“Y/N. You are not spending Christmas alone.” Nancy pressed. “We already have an extra plane ticket. One of Taylor’s friends was supposed to join us but had a last-minute change of plans. It’s no bother at all to swap the names and I insist.” 

If there was one thing you had learned about Nancy over the years was that she was certainly a mama bear and when she got something into her head, she wasn’t going to let it drop until you agreed. 

“I’m not...my suitcases are a mess and…” You murmured, opening your trunk. 

“Well, then I guess you better go rearrange them. We leave in an hour.” Her hand squeezed yours and she turned back, yelling up toward the house for Jeff to pull up the flight information to edit Erin’s ticket to reflect your name. 

_____

A little over six hours later you were disembarking from the flight into the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport feeling like some of the weight on your shoulders had been lifted. From the moment you’d stepped into your parents’ house, Taylor Chychrun had started texting you a list of a million things to bring with you. While you’d finally lugged your bag downstairs and into the Chychrun’s car, Jeff had started rambling about how good it was to see you and how excited they all were that you were joining them. The rambling was a good distraction from the depths of your brain and it lasted until you reached the airport. Then, the moment the plane had taken off, Taylor had insisted on sharing a pair of headphones as she put on a cheesy Christmas movie and it wasn’t long before her commentary had you nearly rolling in laughter. It had been far too long since you had spent any time with the Chychrun’s and maybe Nancy was right. You needed to be around people and the Chychrun’s were some of the best. You honestly hadn’t realized how much you missed them. 

And there was one member of the family, in particular, who you missed without even knowing it. 

You had just pulled your bag from the baggage carousel when you heard Taylor squeal out her brother’s name. By the time you turned around, both Nancy and Taylor had their arms wrapped around Jakob’s lean frame and a second later Jeff was hugging him as well. As the family moved to gather their bags, your eyes met blue and for a moment you felt like you couldn’t breathe. 

“Y/N…” Jakob greeted, surprise filling his voice as numerous emotions flicked across his face. “I...I didn’t know you were coming.” He whispered, though his body stepped forward to lean down and wrap around yours in a strong but gentle hug. “It’s good to see you.” He murmured softly in your ear and immediately you knew that he was being completely sincere. 

“It was a last-minute change of plans.” You admitted. “But your mom insisted I come and it’s really good to see you too.” Jakob’s smile was warm as he pulled away and immediately reached for your bag. “I can…” You started but quickly gave in when he sent you a look, one he had very clearly learned from his mom. “Thank you.” You corrected, looking over to see that the rest of the Chychrun’s had gathered their bags and were ready to leave the airport. 

As you sat in the back seat of Jakob’s SUV you tried to but couldn’t remember the last time Nick had ever carried one of your bags for you. It was such a small thing but it made you miss your broken relationship just a little bit less. 

_____

You’d spent the evening hours that first night curled up on the outdoor couch in Jakob’s backyard with a glass of wine in hand as you watched the flames flicker in the gas fireplace. Though you chipped in on the conversation occasionally, for the most part, you just sat and observed the family dynamics going on around you. As you watched Jakob laugh and be ribbed by his dad and sister, your brain popped up with that nagging reminder that Nick’s family had never been this laid back, made you feel this comfortable. Still, you occasionally caught yourself fiddling with your barren ring finger, mimicking the action of spinning your engagement ring around it. You hadn’t realized anyone noticed but a few minutes after everyone else headed inside for bed, Jakob returned with a fresh glass of wine for you and sat next to you, his thigh pressed against your knee. 

“Can I uh...can I ask what happened?” He inquired, the calmness of his voice settling deep in your bones. “If you don’t want to talk about it that’s cool but uh...you keep fiddling with your ring finger and I can’t help but notice your engagement ring is missing.” It didn’t surprise you that Jakob knew you’d been engaged, not with the way your moms gossiped. And though it shouldn’t, for some reason it did surprise you that he cared enough to ask about it. Downing another long sip of wine you debated whether you wanted to share the details but the feeling of Jakob’s warm hand on your knee pushed you to start talking. 

You rambled on about how you hadn’t seen it coming, how you thought things were going well. You complained about how he’d done it in public, making you look like a completely crazy woman. You cried softly as you talked about how now you suddenly felt like you weren’t good enough, had never been good enough, and then before Jakob could jump in and stop your negative thoughts, you admitted that maybe you hadn’t truly been happy either. 

Jakob just sat and listened, he’d always been a good listener...you couldn’t say the same about Nick...before he draped his arm over your shoulder and pulled you against the side of his body. 

“Can I be honest?” He whispered, his fingers tangling in your hair. 

“Of course.” You agreed though you were anxious to hear what he had to say. 

“He wasn’t good enough for you,” Jakob stated. “I know you cared about him...loved him even…” He paused for a moment. “But your smile never reached your eyes when you were with him.” Maybe you imagined it because of the wine, but you could have sworn you felt Jakob’s breath hitch as he leaned in to kiss the top of your head. “So this may not be what you wanted or expected but I’m relieved...because I just want to see you happy, truly happy Y/N.” 

Sitting, curled into Jakob’s side you sat and watched the fire flicker back and forth, his thumb rubbing lazily against your upper arm. 

At the same time, a fire was starting to flicker inside of you, long-forgotten embers slowly being stoked to life. 

_____

You weren’t sure if it was the insanely comfortable mattress, the wine, or the feeling of Jakob’s arms wrapped around your waist as he hugged you goodnight, but you fell asleep almost instantly and didn’t stir until the sun was peeking through the windows. As you pushed the sleep from your body, you pondered over the fact that you couldn’t remember the last time you had slept that well. 

After breakfast, you had bugged Jakob about where the best local shopping was and then dragged Taylor out with you to buy presents despite everyone’s protests. Your raised eyebrow when you accused Nancy of trying to talk you out of shopping while knowing she was going to make sure there were presents for you was enough to get her to back off and after a few successful hours, you had a set of small presents for each member of the Chychrun family. 

You snuck into your guest room to wrap them before changing into your swimsuit and heading down to spend some time at Jakob’s pool. As you lounged with Taylor, working on your tans, you occasionally felt a pair of eyes on you that made you shiver. Eventually, Jakob pulled you into the pool with him, and for the first time since the break-up, you forgot about Nick completely. As dinner time approached, you pulled yourself away from where Jakob was bugging you in the pool and dried off, heading inside to see if you could help Nancy with dinner. 

Dinner was once again delicious, and you teased Nancy about how she was turning you into a lush with all of the wine. Conversation felt even more seamless than the night before and as you worked to clean up dishes, you felt Jakob pressing against your back as he reached up to put dishes away over your head. 

“You doin’ okay?” He whispered and when you nodded you felt him squeeze your hip, the heat of his fingers transferring quickly through the thin fabric of your sundress. The two of you danced around each other as you finished cleaning up and when you were done, he tugged you over to the piano sitting in his living room. “Mom wanted me to play and I think you should come and play with me.” 

“Jakob...that’s all you buddy...I haven’t...it’s been years.” You admitted. In fact, you had both been teenagers the last time you had touched piano keys. 

“It’s not exactly something you forget.” He insisted, sitting you down on the piano bench before sliding in beside you. “I’ll even give you the easy part.” He declared, bumping your shoulder with what would be his own if you were a little bit taller but was instead just his arm. Scanning both the music and the keys in front of you, you tried to remember but settled for resting your fingers on the key Jakob pointed you to, following his direction and what little natural musical talent you had to press your key at the appropriate time. 

By the second song, you just watched Jakob, who was such a natural at this that you knew he still took the time to practice. After playing a little mini-concert for his family, the two of you moved to join everyone else on the couches where Nancy was looking through photo albums. For the most part, she just showed them off to her kids but every once and a while she would draw your attention and point to a photo of you and Jakob. Sometimes you forgot about how close you once had been, and as you took in photos of you in Jakob’s jerseys over the years you felt waves of peace wash over you. 

By the time you headed to bed, your head was full of memories. 

And as you lay there, tossing and turning, those memories fed into the slowly growing fire deep inside you until tears were streaming down your cheeks. All at once, you remembered why you had even given Nick a second look in the first place. 

You were trying to get over your feelings for Jakob. 

For most of your teenage years, you’d had a schoolgirl crush of sorts on your neighbor and best friend. But then you got older, he got drafted into the NHL and your hopes of those feelings ever being requited vanished. You had just watched Jakob play his first NHL game when Nick approached you and honestly the rest was history. It wasn’t that you hadn’t liked Nick...but you certainly had never been in love with him...you just told yourself you were. You had settled for what you thought was attainable because you were afraid of truly being hurt by the man you considered unattainable. 

Now you were back at square one and this time you could feel yourself falling back into those feelings, falling rapidly in love with Jakob. 

Unable to sleep, you tiptoed downstairs and over to the piano, your path lit by the Christmas tree which twinkled, reflecting off the windows. Gently your fingers ran over the keys, not using any pressure for fear of waking someone. 

“Y/N…” A scratchy voice whispered and after jumping from being startled, you looked over to find Jakob walking toward you from the kitchen. “What are you doing up?” He asked. You hadn’t realized that you were still crying until Jakob was squatting beside the piano bench, his fingers brushing the tears off your cheeks. 

“I never loved him.” You admitted. Confusion filled Jakob’s face and he quietly stood, pulling you from the bench and over towards the tree that looked like it came straight off the cover of a magazine. 

“What do you mean?” Jakob questioned, his arms resting lightly on your hips as he tried to understand everything going through your head. 

“I never loved him.” You repeated. “I just told myself I did. Told myself he would have to be good enough.” Jakob started to speak but you shook your head needing to get it all out there. “But he never carried my bags. Opened my door. Brought me wine. I don’t think his family ever liked me much. They certainly never made me feel very welcome. And he...he never really listened. I never felt like he truly ever heard me. Like he truly ever even knew me. I…” This time it was Jakob who shut you up, his fingers flexing against your hips as he stepped closer. 

“Are you saying…? Fuck...please tell me you’re saying…” Jakob’s voice was rough with emotion and the Christmas lights caught his eyes in ways that made them send shivers down your spine. You weren’t surprised that he had picked up on how everything you’d mentioned was something he’d done, his family had done in the last 48 hours. “Please…” Jakob repeated, and you could feel how much he needed the answer. 

“I never loved him because he wasn’t you.” Jakob didn’t respond, and immediately you started questioning if that was even what he expected you to say, what he wanted you to say. “I...was so certain that you’d never feel the same that I went for something that I knew was actually attainable and I guess I was right on the first count but wrong on the latter…” 

A gasp spilled from your throat as Jakob crashed his lips onto yours, pulling you against his body for a deep and passionate kiss. Jakob kissed you until you had to pull away to breathe, and then as soon as you had caught your breath, he kissed you again. 

You weren’t sure how long you stood in front of the Christmas tree, Jakob’s hands and mouth trying to tell you all the things he had yet to say. But eventually, he paused, his forehead resting against yours as his fingers drifted to take your hands in his. 

“You just made my every Christmas wish for the last five years come true.” He breathed. “Fuck...I’ve been in love with you since I was like 16. I just didn’t know what love was. I’ve missed having you in my everyday life more than you know and I hope you know I’m not letting you go now. I know you have shit to work through, we have shit to work through but I promise you...the day I put a ring on your finger I am never going to ask for it back.” 

Jakob’s words, the certainty behind each and every one of them, stoked the teasing flames into an all-consuming inferno. You’d never imagined this day would ever come. But it had, and it was possibly the best Christmas gift you could ever receive. 

“I’m going to hold you to that promise.” You murmured, pressing your lips against Jakob’s once more. With his hands tangled in your hair, Jakob walked the two of you back to the couch, pulling you down to curl into his lap. It was there that you finally fell asleep for a few hours, waking to the feeling of Jakob’s lips against your neck. 

____

By the time his family made their way downstairs, you and Jakob had breakfast made and were sitting outside enjoying the warm Arizona Christmas Eve. As you basked under the sun’s rays, you thought about both your future and your past. To many, it might seem crazy that a week ago you were engaged to be married and now you were quickly falling head over heels for another man. To those that truly knew you, however, you were certain that it would come as no surprise. There was so much that you and Jakob needed to discuss but you could honestly and truly say that you were excited for what the future held. 

As you finished breakfast, you chatted with Nancy about all of the food preparations that needed made both for dinner tonight but also lunch and dinner tomorrow. It wasn’t long until you were elbow deep in recipes, working alongside Nancy and Taylor to make sure that everything was ready and needed as little effort as possible later. By the time preparations were finished, it was time to change for church and when you came down the stairs you felt Jakob’s eyes taking in the sight of you, the feeling holding a deeper meaning now. His hand rested against the small of your back as he guided you to the car and he dipped his head to whisper in your ear. 

“You look beautiful.” The deep color of his eyes signaled that there were words he wasn’t saying given the time and audience but it still made you fight back a blush knowing his thoughts weren’t all appropriate. 

Church was followed by dinner and board games before everyone retired to bed. Everyone but you and Jakob. Now dressed in loungewear, you made your way to where Jakob was seated on the couch, straddling over his lap as his hands fell to your hips. 

“Care to share what you were really thinking earlier…” You teased, your body responding with excitement to just the feeling of his eyes on you. 

“I was thinking there are things I want to do to you that I should definitely not be thinking on my way to church.”  He replied, sealing his lips around yours in a kiss and sliding his tongue into your mouth as you gasped against him. “I probably also shouldn’t be thinking them with my parents and sister upstairs.” He added as he pulled back to breathe. 

“Think them.” You murmured, dropping your hips to rock against his. “Because I know I am.” Jakob groaned and allowed you to seek the friction of your hips on his for another moment before his hands forced you to stop. “J…” You whined, pouting as he laughed against your neck. 

“Trust me, baby...I want it too.” Jakob assured you. “But I want to take you on a date first.” He insisted. “And I certainly want to be able to hear every noise you make without worrying about being caught by my parents.” You knew he was right but that didn’t mean you had to be happy about it. “I’ve wondered what it would feel like to be inside you since I was 17...I can wait a little longer. And I swear I’ll make it worth your while.” 

“J...you can’t say things like that.” You grumbled now feeling even more turned on than you were when he first stopped you. 

“I’m sorry.” Jakob breathed, moving one hand to cup your face and pull you into a gentle kiss. For a moment, his remaining hand twitched on its spot against your hip before it moved quickly, shifting around your stomach to slide under the waistband of your pajamas. As his fingers slid between your slick folds you felt him break the kiss to murmur against your lips. “You gotta be quiet okay baby?” His fingers quickly found your swollen clit as he kissed you again, muffling your whimpers as you shifted your hips against his hand. Quickly, one long finger pressed inside of you before being joined by a second, and before you could even process just how quickly you were cumming on just his fingers, your orgasm crashed over your leaving you gasping quietly into his shoulder. 

As you caught your breath, Jakob removed his fingers, wiping them onto his sweats before his lips kissed your forehead. 

“Better baby?” He asked, a soft smirk on his face. All you could do was nod, the muscles in your thighs still twitching. 

“We’re gonna talk about that later.” You sighed, amazed at the fact that he hadn’t even hesitated in reading your body and providing you exactly what you needed. Not to mention that it was that good. 

After a moment, Jakob had you cradled in his arms and had stood from the couch, heading for the stairs. 

“Now I think it’s time for bed. You know Santa won’t come if you’re still awake.” He joked. As he laid you down gently on the guest bed he kissed you once more, his fingers pushing a stray strand of hair away. “Merry Christmas Y/N. I’ll see you in the morning.” 

“Merry Christmas J...thank you.” Sated from your orgasm, from the feelings of being loved by Jakob, sleep once again came quickly as you snuggled into bed. 

______

Taylor was the one who woke you up in the morning, insisting that everyone was downstairs and ready to open presents. Cleaning yourself up a little from last night’s activities, you made your way downstairs a few minutes later to find presents now stacked neatly under the tree. The only spot available was beside Jakob on the couch and in front of the empty spot was a steaming mug. With a silent nod, Jakob confirmed it was for you and as Nancy handed out the first round of presents you took a sip, smiling at the fact that someone remembered that hot chocolate was the only appropriate beverage for Christmas morning.

In the first round, your present was from Nancy and Jeff and when you opened it you smiled and laughed when it was a wine pairing book. 

“You’re going to try and educate me yet.” You joked. “Thank you.” 

In the second round, you received a gift bag with bath bombs and body scrubs from Taylor and Jeff opened up some silly daily calendar that Taylor had helped you pick out. The third round you got some new nail polishes from Nancy and she opened the wine ice cubes that you had gotten for her. You continued around the room a few more times until you reached the final round. Taylor opened a romper you had picked out for her while she was in the bathroom and she immediately insisted she would have to go try it on as soon as you were done. Jakob opened a pair of swim trunks, he had complained about his old ones pretty much as soon as you arrived, and while he laughed his eyes met yours silently communicating that you had already given him the best gift just by being his. 

As his mom leaned over to hand you your last present, Jakob slid another one on top of it causing his family to raise their eyebrows. 

“Open the big one first.” He insisted and when you tore off the paper and opened the box, inside you found exactly what you had been expecting. Your fingers pulled the maroon fabric from the box and your heart beat faster as you examined the name and number. It had been so long since you’d worn one of Jakob’s jerseys and you absolutely couldn’t wait to put it on. 

“Thank you.” You breathed, trying not to cry as you leaned over to hug him quickly. He was smiling, but you could feel that he was nervous about the other package as you tore through the paper. With the paper tossed to the floor, you found yourself holding a small jewelry box. Glancing over at him you watched as he rubbed the back of his neck. Popping the lid to the box open, you revealed a small metal ring in the shape of a knot. With your breath caught from the statement he was making, you looked over at him again. 

“I uh...I thought your ring finger might be feeling a little bare.” He whispered. “It’s uh...it’s a promise ring, a promise to help you heal, a promise to explore everything we’ve both been feeling for so long, and a promise to someday replace this one with both a proper engagement ring and a wedding band so that that jersey will be your last name and not just mine.” You choked back a sob at everything that tiny band symbolized, trying to speak but unable to find words. “I got you a chain too..you know in case you aren’t ready to wear it as a ring…” He added. 

Finally, the simplest of phrases flew forth. 

“It’s perfect, J.” Offering him the box, you held your left hand out for him to slide the ring onto your finger. It fit perfectly and unlike your engagement ring which had never really felt like you, this looked like it was meant to be there. 

Laying your left hand onto his cheek, you leaned over again, pressing your lips to his in the sweetest of kisses. It wasn’t until you pulled away that you realized the show you’d just put on for his formerly in the dark family who was currently staring at the two of you from their spots around the living room. 

You honestly didn’t know what to say to them so when Nancy stood, beckoning you forward so that she could see the ring you felt your breath settle back into your chest. 

“Oh honey, it’s beautiful.” She exclaimed, her arms wrapping around your body in a secure hug. 

“Thank you.” You murmured. “Just thank you.” There weren’t enough words to express all that you were thankful for. For bringing the man you were falling in love with into the world, for insisting you come on this trip, for being so supportive even when you knew there were a lot of unanswered questions. 

“Of course...you’re family now aren’t you.” She smiled and at that moment you knew that this was what you wanted forever. 

Christmas truly was the most wonderful time of the year because it reunited you with the love of your life and expanded your heart with the love of his entire family. As Nancy and Taylor worked to serve breakfast, Jakob pulled you into his arms, kissing you once again as he dipped you in front of the Christmas tree. And like the photos in Nancy’s albums, that was a picture you would look back on and smile, a picture that would hang on the wall for years to come in your home together. 

[cali-holland]

Interview Trouble, Part Two- Tom Holland Mini Series

Pairing: Tom Holland X Reader

Prompt: With your relationship now public, you and Tom do interviews together.

Word Count: 1900

Part One

Masterlist    Tom Holland Masterlist

*Gif is not mine*

A/N: Didn’t intend on doing a part two, but I couldn’t help myself!

~~~

“Hi, everyone, I am Y/N Y/L/N.” You smiled at the camera.

“And I’m Tom Holland.” Tom said with a wave.

“And we’re here to answer some questions while playing with puppies.” You explained, as prompted. Tom immediately started to try to play with as many puppies as he could. Meanwhile, you just casually played with the one nearest you. Your relationship had been public for a year now, and, with Tom’s new movie coinciding with you releasing new music, your managers set up couple’s interviews for the two of you to do together.

“How did you two meet?” The interviewer asked, off camera.

“We met,” Tom started, looking at you with a smile, “At this pub in London about two years ago. I had been a fan of Y/N’s music for a while, so when I saw her I just had to go say hi.”

“Correction. He tripped and fell on his way over to me so I had to help him up.” You teased and he pouted.

“What can I say? I was already falling for you.” He laughed, “But it’s true. I was whipped.”

“I’m whipped too.” You leaned over to give him a peck on the lips.

“You live together now. Would you two ever adopt a dog?” The interviewer spoke up. As if on cue, a small black puppy flopped down into your lap and started to fall asleep.

“Aw, I feel chosen.” You smiled, softly petting the dog. You turned your attention back to the camera to answer the question. “We haven’t really thought about it, have we?” You looked over at Tom.

“We haven’t, no.” He laughed, “I love that you have to look at me to make sure we haven’t talked about getting a dog.”

“Maybe I just want to look at you.” You joked, playfully rolling your eyes at your boyfriend.

“We should get a dog, though. When we go home next, we’ll get a dog, just for you Buzzfeed.” Tom said, continuing to play the puppies crawling over his lap.

“What’s the most romantic thing you’ve done for each other?” The interviewer continued.

“Oh God,” You let out a small sigh as you started to think about what you’d consider to be the most romantic thing.

“Oh God? Am I really not that romantic?” Tom questioned, feigning offense.

“No, no.” You laughed.

“Did you see her reaction? Just ‘oh God, he never does anything romantic’.” He teased.

“I didn’t say that.” You playfully hit his arm. “I need to think about it.”

“I say, the most romantic thing you’ve done is- remember when we first started dating and you were over at my place?”

“Oh, this.” You smiled fondly. Tom turned to the camera to continue explaining.

“We’d only been dating for about a month, and I got really sick when Y/N was at my house. I had food poisoning so I couldn’t stomach anything, but she stayed with me and made me soup when I could eat again.”

“That’s such an odd thing for you to consider the most romantic thing I’ve ever done for you.” You teased. “You were like ‘most romantic thing? She saw me puke but she stayed’. Peak of romance right there.”

“It’s true, though. I really thought ‘she’s seen me vomit, she’s going to break up with me’, but you stayed. You’ve done a lot of romantic things, but that was the first one that I was like ‘I’m in love with this girl’.” He said, a small blush in his cheeks because, yes, he did just embarrassingly admit to the world that him being so sick was ‘the peak of romance’.

“Aw, babe.” You smiled, leaning over and kissing him. “I think the most romantic thing you’ve done for me was when we were in Atlanta, just before my tour while you were filming Avengers. You had the day off and we went to this small boutique, and I saw this cute wolf figurine.” You held up with your hands about the size of it, not bigger than your own hand. “I didn’t buy it that day, but when you surprised me on tour like a month later, you gave me that because you’d gone back and gotten it for me.”

“I like that you both went for small gestures, when we’ve all seen the Bali pictures.” The interviewer joked, referring back to when Tom surprised you with a trip to Bali. Not only was the trip a surprise holiday, but he also had candles and rose petals put throughout the hotel room.

“Oh, no, that’s up there.” You laughed. The small puppy on your lap let out a whine, calling for attention.

“We’re definitely adopting a dog.” Tom said and you nodded in agreement.

And a couple weeks later, when you both returned to England, you had adopted not one, but two puppies.

~~~

Back in England, you two still had more interviews to do. This time, though, you two were doing it through Facebook live. Instead of having an interviewer ask questions, you two read off a cue card, asking each other questions to see who knew the other better.

“Which of your movies is my favorite?” You asked Tom, once the cameras started to roll.

“Far From Home.” He said, smugly, already knowing he got the right answer. “What’s my favorite song of yours?”

“A Thousand Years.” You replied, immediately knowing his answer. It was the first song you had written about him, and he went weak anytime he heard it. “What’s my go-to drink?”

“I might not know this.” Tom laughed, nervously. “I like beer, but yours is tequila, right?”

“Two years and you still question if I like tequila.” You teased. “But that’s right.”

“Who was my childhood celebrity crush? Damn, that’s easy.” He shook his head, “Unfair.”

“Is it Jennifer Aniston?” You asked, and he nodded, “I guessed that one.”

“Oh sure.”

“Who would I love to collab with?”

“Ed Sheeran.” Tom replied quickly. 

“You know me so well.”

“What’s my all-time favorite movie?” Tom read the card, laughing, “Wait, I don’t even know this one.”

“Does Dodgeball count? We’ve watched it like a million times together.” You joked.

“Yeah, it counts.” He nodded, approvingly.

“Last question. What’s my ring size?” 

“Wait, I know this.” Tom paused, thinking about it. “I just talked to your sister about this the other day.”

“You what?” Your eyes went wide at his comment. He laughed, awkwardly remembering the interview was live.

“She was talking about how she has a ring that she wants to get rid of, she was going to give it to you.” He explained, maintaining his cool. The blush on his face told you another story; you could tell he was lying. He may be an actor, but he could never lie to you, no matter how much he wanted to.

The interview’s director cut the livestream there, and everyone left you and Tom on the couch to talk about the elephant in the room.

“So you asked my sister about my ring size.” You said, smiling hopefully at Tom.

“Yeah,” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean to spoil it. God, I’m so bad at keeping secrets.”

“I love that you suck at keeping secrets. It’s adorable and it’s so completely you.” You placed a hand on his arm, rubbing it softly. Tom fished into his pant pockets and pulled out the small red box.

“This isn’t how I wanted to do this, but I don’t really care because I just want to be with you.” Tom shifted off the couch and onto one knee.

“You don’t have to do this now. I can wait.” You reassured him, knowing that you couldn’t convince him to change anyway. Not that you wanted to wait- your answer would still be the same no matter when or how he asked.

“Y/N Y/L/N, I love you more than I can explain. Everyday that I spend with you, I fall more in love, and I want to spend everyday with you for the rest of my life. I’m already the luckiest and happiest man on earth because I have you, but will you make me even luckier and happier and marry me?” Tom asked, popping open the box to present a beautiful, small diamond ring to you.

“I love you so much- yes!” You hadn’t even finished your own sentence before Tom was already slipping the ring onto your finger. Both of you knew exactly what you’d say, and it made you love him even more. He sat back on the couch next to you, so that you could kiss your fiance properly.

~~~

“Please welcome the talented, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Tom Holland!” Jimmy Kimmel announced as the curtain opened to reveal Tom. Tom walked out onto the stage, waving at the audience, and shaking hands with Jimmy. He saw you in the crowd and blew you a cheeky kiss before sitting down in his spot.

“So, it’s been a year since you’ve last been on the show. How has life been?” Jimmy asked.

“It’s been good, just lots of work. I spent a good portion of last year just working on different sets. I got some exciting stuff coming soon.” Tom replied happily.

“You also,” Jimmy paused as he got out a picture of Tom’s post on Instagram. It was of you two kissing while you held up your left hand; the classic proposal photo. “got engaged recently?”

“Yeah, I did.” His cheeks went red as his eyes found yours in the crowd.

“Congratulations. Can we bring Y/N up here?” The host asked and the audience cheered when you stood from your seat. Jimmy greeted you with a hug and you kissed Tom as you sat down next to him on the couch. “Let’s see the ring.”

“There we go.” Tom said proudly as you showed off your left hand to Jimmy, the audience, and the cameras.

“Did we get a good close up of it?” You joked.

“It’s so shiny, it’s hard to take a good picture.” Tom laughed. You casually rested your left hand on his leg and he covered your hand with his own.

“I heard a rumor that, Tom, you actually spoiled the surprise.” Jimmy said, “How did- how did you do that?”

“So we were doing a livestream interview, and I had been very secretive about proposing-“ Tom started.

“You were not secretive.” You teased. “You told everyone except for me.”

“That’s generally how proposals work.” Jimmy laughed.

“No, I’m talking about how fans knew he was going to propose. He would tell people in the grocery store, that kind of everyone.”

“I was excited and trying not to tell you.” Tom said, “It’s hard not being able to tell the person I tell everything to about something so exciting.”

“But anyway,” you continued the story, “He said during the livestream he’d just asked my sister for my ring size, and then he proposed when the cameras stopped rolling.”

“How sweet.” Jimmy commented.

“The cat was already out of the bag. It’s not like I could go back.” Tom joked.

“You two also just adopted a couple dogs, right?” Jimmy asked, pulling out another picture of you and Tom with your two rescue staffordshire puppies. The audience let out a series of awes at the photograph.

“So Hugo’s the fawn colored one and Marley’s the white one.” Tom stated.

“What kind of breed are they again?”

“They’re both English Staffordshire bull terriers. Tom’s got one named Tessa and she’s such a sweetheart. But we did an interview with puppies for Buzzfeed and decided we needed to get a dog.” You explained.

“And then we couldn’t choose just one so we got two.” Tom laughed.

“They’re our babies.” You joked, feeling Tom’s finger brush over the ring on your left hand which made you smile.

[cordonia]

Lovelink: Hugo Hornsby (Bored)

Rating: PG Word count: 1603 Summary: Hugo Hornsby is late, and Isadora can’t help but feel herself slipping out of his life. Maybe some love fizzles out just like this; tired and bored.

"The games you played were never fun You'd say you'd stay but then you'd run"

Bored. Isadora hunched forward over the diner counter and rested her cheek against her fist, very slowly rolling her eyes. He was late, again, and that was becoming an unfamiliar habit. She was getting bored. The last time she had seen him, she was walking around her apartment in her underwear, making him a coffee while he awaited on the couch. He stared at her hips while rambling on about planetary disease and she just nodded along. Two weeks later, he was...

"Late. So late. I know, I'm so fucking sorry." Hugo Hornsby scrambled onto the neighbouring stool and tossed his wallet down on the counter.

Isadora both cringed and laughed inside when his voice dropped to a whisper as he swore, then rose again with an emphatic sorry.

His cheeks were ruddy and the brown sugar hair upon his head was unkempt. He slept in. And regardless, she was charmed, hidden deep beneath her impatience. Hugo Hornsby was sort of ravishing.

"Good morning, Hugo."

"No smile for your best friend?"

She frowned, deeply, just in time for a waitress to set a cup of coffee in front of Hugo with a lightly toasted bagel with too much butter. They'd only gone to this diner for a few months, but everyone knew their orders quite quickly. It was just far enough from the city that they almost forgot about the real lives waiting for them back home. Almost.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that you don't have time for friends, Hugo. You bailed on Taylor Thursday night too." He flinched, and Isadora braced herself for a pang of guilt, despite its truth.

"Taylor was a mistake, I already talked to him about it. If you two aren't dating anymore, why does he talk to you so much anyways?"

"Bitter-bug." If he was going to act like a child, so would she.

"What did you call me?" His brows furrowed, a crease forming behind the bangs that kept falling in his face.

"You're bitter that Taylor thinks I'm cooler than you. And why we talk is no longer your business, we're allowed to be friends. You introduced us to each other, it's not our fault we're close."

The dating ruse had been fun while it lasted, but soon it became clear that there was a lot more complexity to Hugo and Sally's relationship. They'd been so close, Sally almost gave in. But even if she had, would Hugo have chosen Isadora after everything that had happened? She wasn't sure she would have settled for being a rebound if it was Sally's decision to leave.

"I suppose that one is on me. And I am sorry I'm late, I spent my Friday night marking thirty science tests in my least favourite unit."

"You don't have a least favourite unit," she said bluntly. "How was date night with Sal?"

Hugo shrugged sheepishly, a bit guilty but mostly embarrassed by his lie. She knew he missed their original date night that week because there was no obligatory Instagram post about it. She hated that she knew the inside workings of his whole life. He was very predictable, even if he wasn't calling her as much anymore.

"I wanted to take her to the restaurant her parents brought us to when we graduated, but it was three hours away. We drove all of the way there and it was closed, then got stuck in traffic the whole way home. She's back to not talking to me, again."

"She should have killed you."

"Isadora?" He stared at her so earnestly her heart began to slow, anticipation like a heavy rock on her chest. Time was slow around Hugo, love took a lot more patience than she ever dreamed. "What am I doing?"

Breaking my heart, she silently lamented.

"You're living whatever life you chose for yourself. Very few people choose, Hugo. Don't you feel lucky?"

Maybe it was cruel, but she couldn't look at him as she said it. She wanted him to recoil, to show a glimpse of misery or regret for what could have been. She just didn't want to see it, it would make her too sad to sit next him and know he hurt just as much as her. For what? That was a good question.

Maybe the only look on his face was content and at peace with his choices. Maybe he wasn't hurting like her at all. She couldn't bear to see that either.

"I'm very happy for everything I have. I suppose I could consider myself lucky."

When she finally looked, she really couldn't read what he was feeling. All she knew was that she was soaking up every ounce of exhaustion clinging to the air like radiation. And it all came from Hugo. Who was he these days? Was everyone losing him like this or was it just her?

"I've been thinking about something lately. You don't text me anymore, I know we hang out here and there. I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I miss waiting to see your name pop up on my phone during a long shift. It used to make my day, talking to you about the little things. Once upon a time we were just friends on an app and nothing else mattered." Back when it was hopeful to fall in love with him, when he made promises.

Not promises, she supposed, declarations maybe. Ideas. Dreams that turned into bad ideas.

"I miss you too. I know it's been different for a while, I've been torn in so many directions I don't have a brain left to communicate with some days. It's a lousy excuse, but I know how different it's been. It's not just... I really do miss you, I promise."

"Just text me, if you think about me some days and have the time. You don't have to waste any thoughts on me, ever. But if you do," she shrugged.

Hugo rubbed his eyes, sighed a little. "No thought of you is ever a waste, and if I were to text you every time I thought about you, you'd swear I was obsessed with you."

A sad smirk curled Isadora's lip and she leaned a little into his side. They sat facing the kitchen, not looking at each other, shoulder to shoulder.

"Not if I answered back to every one. Then we'd both be obsessed, that would be pretty pathetic I suppose."

"Incurably pathetic." His voice was smooth with a gentle authoritative tone that came from years of teaching.

The romantics dream, a very simple foundation to it at least, is to find someone who actively chooses you. Hugo Hornsby woke up some days and chose Sally, as he had for about a decade prior to meeting Isadora. Then there were other days, when he came over for dinner with her favourite snacks in a bag and sleek button up shirt, almost always green, with a smile just for her. And she swore, however delusional she may have been, that he chose her over and over again.

And then he'd leave. Rinse... repeat.

"Taylor mentioned that they have more auditions on Monday night, I was hoping you'd have time to binge Ito's new cooking show. Netflix gave him a wicked budget; there's a whole episode about trying to teach the prince to make desserts for his fiancee."

Hugo's dimples framed a wide smile, his deep blue eyes sharp under the harsh diner lights. "That sounds perfect! How about I bring some of the wine Sally and I made last summer?"

Isadora nodded, despite the notion of drinking that wine seeming slightly sacrilegious. They'd only ever gotten drunk together one other time, and during a particularly harsh wind storm. She fell asleep on the couch and woke up at 4am, holding Hugo's hand from where he laid unconscious on the floor. No matter how tight she had squeezed, he hadn't woken up. Isadora had cried silently for what seemed like ages, wondering if it was her first and last time to ever hold his hand.

She could never hold his hand in public, never kiss his lips in private, never feel his body curl around hers in a bed they couldn't share. Hugo Hornsby was not her fiance, or boyfriend, or lover.

He was just her friend, shoulder to shoulder with her in a diner on the off-beaten path outside of town.

"If you're bringing wine, I'll provide the cheese. Actually, I'll grab some back up wine too, the temperature drops Monday and we're in for a cold night."

"Perfect!" He cheered excitedly, earning a dirty look from a rather tired looking waitress.

"You're perfect," Isadora smiled. She swore Hugo even blushed. Did he blush for Sally? Did she ever try to get such a reaction from her partner?

"Isadora?" She stared at him expectantly and wondered if she could ever get sick of hearing him say her name. Her arm was still pressed tightly against his side, to the point that she was almost falling off of the stool.

"Yes, Hugo?"

"The butterflies don't go away," he whispered. Those blue eyes were dimmer, dimples disappearing into a tightened jaw. Isadora looked away and rested her head on his shoulder, for just a second. She pretended it was to comfort him and not herself.

"Everything dies, Hugo. Especially the butterflies."

He should know that... it happened with Sally, didn't it?

"And when you walk out the door and leave me torn You're teaching me to live without it"

[bqstqnbruin]

Come back to me part 7

Hello hello everyone! Here I am, with the last part of come back to me. Thank you so much to everyone who reads, likes, reblogs, or comments on this and everything else I’ve written. You guys are the real ones.

I also have to admit that I took the ceremony stuff from this website I can’t take credit for most of that 😬

Read the other parts: Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6

I hope you guys like this!

__________________________

~Four years later~

“Are you sure you want to go see him?” Mat asks you, pacing around the living room. 

“Yeah, we both agreed that this is for the best,” you reassure him, grabbing your bag to head out the door. “The worst thing that will happen is that he says no, and if he tries anything then I’ll just kick him or something.” 

Mat throws his head back laughing, taking you in by the waist to say goodbye. “God, I’ll miss you,” he says, planting a kiss on your lips, “Call me if you need anything?” 

“Always,” you say, kissing him again before heading out the door. You were nervous to see him, but this was something you knew you had to do. “I love you,” you tell him, both loving and hating how mushy he was getting for you to be leaving him for just an afternoon.

“I love you,” he says back, holding on to your hand until you’re too far away for him to do so. 

You make your way towards the apartment you had rented with Kyle nearly five years ago. You hadn’t really been to this part of the city since that weekend you moved out and moved in with Mat. You had barely seen Kyle since that weekend, either; he would pop up every now and then at work for about a year after, but then you hear from Jessica that he had gotten a new job somewhere else. They had this whole party for him and everything in the Finance department and somehow, you didn’t even know about it until three weeks later. 

And now, you were seeing him for the first time at the coffee shop down the street from what you assumed was still the apartment he lived him. You and Mat were nervous about this; Kyle didn’t say much to you while you were moving out. He knew what time you were going to be there and you told him everything you were taking. Other than him saying you forgot something there, you hadn’t even talked since that night you went back to Mat. 

You get to the coffee shop, him already sitting at a table, two cups of coffee, his leg shaking so much you could see the liquid in the cups moving with him. He looks so different from the last time you saw him: his hair is shorter, not that swishy 2010s boy band hair that he had forever. His shirt looks like it’s been ironed, tucked in like he put effort into what he was wearing and not just taking the first shirt out of his drawers like he always did. Everything about him looked so much more put together; he actually looked like an adult, not a college student trying to relive his high school days. 

Something about him looking so put together made a smile appear on your face. He wasn’t a mess like you thought he would be, or at least he didn’t give the appearance that he was freaking out as much as you were internally. He makes eye contact with you, a soft smile on his face as you make your way to him.

You both hesitate before doing anything, that awkward, ‘I haven’t seen you in a minute, do we shake hands or hug?’ giggle that you let out before you just take him in your arms. It still felt different than it felt with Mat, but at least now, it wasn’t a sad version of unfamiliarity. 

“You look great, Kye,” you tell him, sitting down with him as he pushes the coffee towards you. “You’re different, in such a good way.”

“Thanks!” he says, in a cheery tone that you had never heard before, at least not in a time frame that you could remember, “You look great, too, but you always do,” he says, prompting an eye roll from you, even if you can’t help but smile. It’s not like he was flirting with you. “So, I heard you’re engaged, huh?”

You can feel the heat rush to your face, the smile growing bigger at the thought of being engaged to Mat. You look down at the ring under the table, biting your lip debating to show Kyle. “Can I see?” You let out a small laugh, extending your hand across the table to show him. “That’s way better than the one I got you,” he says, looking between you and the ring, “I’m happy for you. I really am, congrats.” 

“Thank you, Kye. That means a lot.”

“Mat’s treating you right?”

You nod. He treats you like a queen. Everything he did was out of pure love. Loving him was the easiest thing you could think of doing. “Just as well as you did.”

“He’s that bad?” Kyle asks, his eyes wide. 

You felt your heart break a little when you heard that, “Kyle, you treated me the best way you could. Never feel bad about what happened between us. None of that was your fault, it was mine.” 

“There are two people in a relationship; if it doesn’t work it’s because of both people. I just want you happy. That’s what’s important.” The look he has on his face makes you know he means it. 

“I am happy. I can’t wait to be married to him,” you admit, part of you feeling bad for telling this to your ex-fiance of all people. 

“Yeah, I know,” he says, you raising an eyebrow at him. You hadn’t talked in months, how could he know, “I was out with some guys one night and they saw some of the guys on the Islanders on the other side of the street. I looked and there you were, Mat with his arm around you, him kissing the side of your head as you all went into whatever bar it was. The look on your face was pure bliss. I knew you and Mat were meant to be, but seeing you that night kinda sealed it. You were always going to find your way back to him.” 

You look at him, a smile on your face while you try to find the words to say, “I hope you find happiness, Kye. You really do deserve it.”

“I actually am. I met a girl that night I saw you with Mat and she’s amazing. I think she might be the one,” he says, laughing, running his hands through his hair. “Is that weird to say to you?”

You shrug, laughing with him. “I mean I don’t care. Just promise me you will actually plan a proposal and not just in her apartment like you did for me.”

“Calista would probably say no like you should have. How did Mat ask you?”

You think back to that night, the smile on your face ever bigger, not even sure how that was possible. “We were at this rooftop bar in Manhattan, the weekend after the Isles clinched a postseason berth last season. One of the guys had rented it out to celebrate with everyone. I turned my back on Mat and Tito for like three seconds, and the next thing I know, Mat is on the stage they had set up, Tito is dragging me up to him and Mat asked me in front of his entire team while Tito is bouncing up and down like a child waiting for me to answer.”

“Easiest yes of your life,” he says. “When I ask Calista, I want it to be special. I hope it is. But, when’s the big day?” 

“Four months. That way we know Mat won’t have any conflict with the season,” you tell him, digging through your bag. “That’s actually why I wanted to talk to you. Mat and I would love it if you came,” you said, handing him an invitation. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, or aren’t comfortable. But you are important to us. And you even had a ‘plus one,’ so if Calista is ok with joining you, we would love to meet her.” 

He holds the invitation in his hands, looking at it as if he were studying it for a test. “I would love to. And I’ll let you know about Calista. I would love for you to meet her.” 

----------

~Four months later~

“Are you nervous, babe?” Jessica asks, zipping up your dress as you stand in front of the mirror. 

You couldn’t believe you made it to today. You had been waiting for this day since, well, since forever? Since the day you met Mat? You weren’t really sure, but everything was perfect so far. You were so happy with how your makeup and hair turned out, your dress was everything you ever dreamed it could be. “About finally marrying Mat? No, not at all,” you say, a smile on your face. “About tripping and breaking my ankle while walking down the aisle? Yes, very nervous.” 

“So you’re not going to pull a runway bride move?” she asks.

“No. I would never do that to Mat. But I think Tito would be more upset, honestly.”

“He’s weirdly invested in your relationship with him,” she points out. You laugh, knowing she’s right. No one wanted you and Mat together more than Tito. You turn around to face her. You swear she’s about to cry looking at you, “You are beautiful. Mat is the luckiest man in the world.” 

“Next to whoever marries you,” you tell her, taking her in for a hug. She was easily the best friend you had; making her your Maid of Honor was the easiest decision for the wedding since saying yes to Mat. 

“Are you ready?” Jessica asks, leading you out of the bridal suite. 

“Of course.”

While you get into your place, the music starting to play, Mat and Tito get into their places, too. “Are you nervous, man? She’s officially going to be your wife in like an hour,” Tito bounces on his toes, annoying his friend.

Mat rolls his eyes, “Nervous to marry Y/N? Not at all. How could I be? Of saying something stupid or messing up my vows? Yeah, really nervous.” 

“You wrote them down, right?” 

“Yes, but,”

Tito cuts him off, “You can read, right?”

“Yes, but,” 

“You’ll be fine. Relax.”

“I can’t relax when you cut me off every two words. If you do that while I’m saying everything, I will not hesitate to punch you,” Mat threatens his Best Man, who can’t help but laugh as the rest of the bridal party makes their way down the aisle. 

The music changes, everyone standing and turning their attention to the back to see you walking towards Mat. As soon as he sees, his eyes light up. He swallows hard, trying not to cry at the sight of how beautiful you looked. This was the last time he was going to see you not as his wife, all of it hitting him now that today marked the rest of his life with you. Mat felt Tito nudge him, the tears in Mat’s eyes threatening to spill over as you get close to him. 

“You are beautiful,” Mat whispers to you once you get up to him. “I love you.”

The officiant starts, giving you the chance only to mouth back, “I love you.” You wanted to tell him how handsome he looked, too. “Marriage is perhaps one of the greatest and most challenging adventures of human relationships. But Mat and Y/N here, know that it takes a separate adventure to get there. After losing each other, they found their way back, to stand before you today. No ceremony can create a marriage; only those in it can. Mat and Y/N will need love and patience; dedication and perseverance; communication and support. They need to understand each other’s differences, forgive each other, appreciate differences, and make the important things matter. The purpose of this ceremony is to witness and affirm that the choice you make to stand together as lifemates partners is the one you want to make.

“No two people in love live in isolation. They are surrounded by their friends and their family, who care for, respect, love, and support their marriage and the new family they are creating today. Will everyone please ride?” Your guests all do, spotting Kyle and who you assumed was Calista sitting close to the front. You were so happy that he came, part of you didn’t think he would. “Will all who are present here today, surround Mat and Y/N in love, offering them the joys of your friendship, supporting them in their marriage?”

Everyone choruses, “we will.” You were smiling at the crowd, but Mat couldn’t take his eyes off you. If someone had told him when he first moved to Seattle, then to New York, that this is where he would be standing today, he wouldn’t believe them. He would tell them they were delusional. But, man, this was the best delusion he could have imagined.

“If there is anyone who has any reason that these two should not be wed, please speak now, or forever hold your peace.”

“I have a reason!” you hear someone call, a voice you can’t make out. This couldn’t be happening, the crowd gasping as they look amongst themselves, trying to figure out who was ruining your wedding. It wouldn’t be Calista, would it? What reason would she have for you and Mat not getting married?

“What the fuck?” you hear Mat groan.

“Satan,” Tito lets out, eyes wide. You follow his gaze to see who’s weeding their way through the row of seats to the aisle. 

“Is that,” you start, trying to remember her name.

“Mona,” Mat lets out, voice low with anger. This was ridiculous. He hadn’t seen or heard from her since she threw water in his face. That was the fifth-best day of his life, behind today, the day he proposed, the day the two of you finally got together, and the day he got drafted. “We didn’t invite her, did we?” 

“I forgot she was even part of your life at some point,” you admit, watching her practically stumble down the aisle, a tall, slim man in a blue plaid suit, black-framed glasses, and hair that had way too much gel in it for his own good. “Who’s following her?”

The crowd starts to murmur, watching the two of them walk down the aisle. You couldn’t tell if Mona was drunk or her heels were too high for her to be properly walk in them. 

“Is that Satan’s keeper?” Tito asks Mat. Neither of them ever recall seeing Paxton, only hearing his voice and reading his messages instructing Mat how to date his client. You both shrug, confused as to why they were here in the first place.

“Do I need to kill this bitch?” Jessica asks, handing off your bouquets to one of your other bridesmaids, ready to fight. 

“That is something you will not do,” you fend her off, putting your arm in front of her. It was a fifty/fifty chance that Jessica would actually do something to hurt Mona, and frankly, your wedding day was not the day to test those odds.

“Mona, what are you doing here?” Mat asks, clearly unamused by whatever shenanigan’s they had planned.

“Stopping your wedding, of course.” 

“With?” Mat asks, gesturing to the man behind her.

“You know Paxton.” 

“Of course,” he groans, rolling his eyes. He had really hoped he never had to actually meet the man, yet here he was. “So, why, exactly, do you feel the need to do this?” He had no time for this nonsense; he was trying to marry his best friend, the love of his life, his wife. 

“I’m still in love with you!” Mona declares, putting her hands on Mat’s chest. You were shocked, everyone around you gasping again while Mat’s expression stays unamused. 

“No,” he says, shaking his head, prying her hands off him, “You do not still love me because you never did love me. Our entire relationship was set up by Paxton. You two weren’t even invited.” 

“I have always loved you, and I know you love me!” she whines again, Paxton standing behind her, smirking.

“What are you, a knock off Kardashian?” Jessica asks, stepping in front of you. “Get out of here. Tito, come on, you get her legs, I’ll get her arms.” 

“What is the point of this?” Mat asks you, getting more and more furious at Mona each second she stands in front of him. 

You shrug, not entirely bothered by the sight of Tito and Jessica carrying Mona out of the venue while Paxton just sauntered behind him. “I don’t know,” you say, starting to laugh, “What’s life without a little chaos, though?”

Mat looks at you, confused, “You’re not mad about this?”

“After everything we’ve done to get here, this is probably the least destructive thing that could have happened. At least it wasn’t Kyle,” you tell Mat, loud enough that only he could hear you. You hear Mona shriek, the guests all craning their necks trying to see any of the action that was going on. “Jessica did threaten to kill her, though.” 

“Should I go get them?” Mat asks, hoping that he wouldn’t also have to deal with murder on his wedding day. 

Before you can answer, Tito and Jessica reappear, closing the doors behind them. “All taken care of,” Jessica says, the two of them joining you. 

“Let’s make her your wife!” Tito says, the crowd awkwardly laughing. 

“You are two seconds from not being my Best Man anymore,” Mat whispers, Tito throwing up his hands in defense. 

“I hope that’s the only interruption we have today,” the officiant says, pausing to make sure that no one else said anything else that would ruin your wedding. “Oh thank god,” they say, everyone laughing. “We’ve come to the point of the ceremony where you will say your vows to each other. Before you do, I ask you to remember that love, which is rooted in faith, trust, and acceptance, will be the foundation of an abiding and deepening relationship. No other ties are more tender, no vows are more sacred. If you are able to keep these vows from today out of a desire to love and to be loved by another person, fully and without limitation, then your life will be full of joy. No matter how far apart the two of you may be physically, you will always find your way back to each other.

“Please now read the vows you have written for each other. Mat, I believe you’re going first?” 

Mat can feel himself shaking, his breathing uneven as he reaches into his jacket to get the paper with his vows. “September 2012 was simultaneously one of the best and work months of my life. It was the month I was drafted into the WHL, the month you and I went on our first date, the month I thought that were was no hope for us to last forever. Even at fourteen, I thought you were perfect. You were the force of nature that never stopped, you loved everyone and everyone loved you. I loved you the moment I saw you.

“May 2015 was another awful month. I was supposed to be happy about turning 18, excited for the draft, but instead, we broke up. We decided that it would be easier to be apart since we didn’t know where I was going to be. And even then I still loved you. I came to New York and still loved you. I never did stop loving you. I always thought that somehow, we would find out way back to each other. That night we happened to be at the same bar was like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I know life with and without you, and life with you is better than anything I could ever imagine. 

“I have loved you forever, and I will love you always. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life by your side.”

You used every ounce of strength not to cry at Mat’s words. You knew he had help from his sister and Tito with writing them, but you didn’t care. You knew he meant every word. “Y/N?” the officiant prompts you. 

You take a deep breath, hoping that Mat loves your vows as much as you loved his. “I never believed in cliches. ‘If you love something, set it free. If it’s meant to be, it’ll find it’s way back.’ That always seemed so absurd: why would you let go of something if you really loved it? Letting go of you the first time, Mat, was one of the most devastating things I ever did. That last fight we had before you got drafted tore me to pieces, and I think I stayed broken until I came to New York. I didn’t even realize that I never stopped loving you until I saw you that night. 

“I can be unapologetically me around you, as annoying and obnoxious as that may be. You’re the person I would make cookies and dance around the kitchen while singing boy band songs horribly off-key at one in the morning. You’re the person who would come home with my favorite flowers just because you wanted to see me with a smile on my face. You’re the person I would go to the ends of the Earth for, no matter what toll it would take on me. You’re the most perfect person for me.

“I have loved you forever, and I will love you always. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life by your side.”

The only thing you had told each other about your vow was that line. You wanted to have that line be the same because you both felt it. 

“Mat and Y/N will now exchange rings as a symbol of their love and commitment to each other. These rings, like your relationship and love for each other, are special; they enhance who you are. They mark the beginning of your long journey together. Your rings are a circle - a symbol of never-ending love. It is the seal of the vows you have just taken to love each other without end. 

“Mat, please place the ring on Y/N’s left hand a repeat after me: As a sign of my love.”

“As a sign of my love,” Mat says, slowly putting the ring on your finger, a smile on his face that made his eyes light up.

“That I have chosen you.”

“That I have chosen you.” 

“Above all else.”

“Above all else.”

“With this ring, I thee wed.” 

“With this ring, I thee wed.”  

You say the same, your hands shaking as you slide the ring on Mat’s finger. This was everything you had been waiting for. 

“And now by the power vested in me by the state of New York, it is my honor and delight to declare you married! You may now kiss the bride!” 

Mat doesn’t need to be told twice. He takes your face in his hands as your hands find their way to his shoulders. He can hear Tito yelling about you finally being his wife, probably making a fool of himself as always why Jessica shoots daggers at him with her look. Mat finally pulls away, your foreheads resting against each other while your guests go wild around you. “Finally,” Mat whispers to you, kissing you once more before taking your hand to lead you to the rest of your lives together. 

[burnedbyshoto]

Here, kitty, kitty.

Kinktober Day 9 ~ kink: pet play

pairing: shinsou hitoshi x fem!reader

warnings: smut, cursing

word count: 2,900

a/n: I apologize for the super late upload, it was a hard day in terms of focusing...... ya but still!!!! enjoy your sleepy purple haired lover you freaks

✩✶✩❇✩✶✩

When your fiance had called you kitten the very first time, you never expected things to transpire to the way they are now. Kitten was an innocuous nickname, a pet name for you. You just assumed that it was Shinsou’s version of love, babe, or princess. 

The first time he muttered that nickname against your lips, you snorted. You pulled away from his puffy pink lips with the widest grin on your face. “Kitten? What am I? A furry?” You asked as you threw your arms around his shoulders, Shinsou’s tired eyes were annoyed. “Don’t tell me you have a furry kink, or else I don’t think this relationship is going to work, my love.”

He had simply rolled his eyes at you, slamming your mouth against his as he mumbled something about ‘kink-shaming’ him. After that night, you had forgotten about it for the most part. He had, after all, fallen back on the safe names such as baby, and sweetheart. The nickname did not resurface for a solid month until the two of you were drunk out of your minds, bodies stumbling into your apartment. Hands desperate against the fabrics of each other's clothes, on edge to take them off. 

Then with enough confidence to make you smile he groaned out the name kitten. You pulled away, this time not with amusement, but with confusion.

“Why did you call me a kitten?” You ask, your eyes wide in confusion. Your fingers still pulling through his thick purple hair as he presses kisses to your neck. You gasp as he grinds his aroused dick onto your flushed front. He laughs against your skin, his crotch was merciless. 

“Because, kitten,” Shinsou begins. His hand tangling in the locks of your hair as he pulls harshly on them. “You’re mine, and as your owner, I get to call you whatever the fuck I want to.”

Chills flew through your veins as you shudder against him, and his low chuckle makes you moan. Why were you so turned on with just his words? “But am I really yours?” You gasp as your back presses unto the cold wall. 

“Do you want to test that out?”

“N-No…”

“I want you to say, no daddy.”

“No, daddy.”

“Wonderful, kitten.” He growls and drags you away. The rest of the night your body was drunk under his touch, but your mind felt sober as he drilled into you. Calling you kitten as he choked you, your strangled screams of calling him, daddy. It was far too much for you to handle, and you passed out as soon as he drew you in for a cuddle. 

That was almost two years ago, and now, you could safely say that you had adopted his kink quite well. Of course, since that night the two of you indulged more into said kink, and things have definitely gotten kinkier. Toys and costumes had been involved on numerous occasions. Roleplay has even been conducted at some point. It worked well for the two of you, and there was no regret in it coming out the way it did. 

However, today had been a hard day for Shinsou. You knew that as soon as he slipped out of bed this morning. Originally the two of you had this day off of work and were planning on spending the day out and about. 

You shifted as he got out of bed, your eyes heavy with exhaustion as you tried to watch him get ready. He walked back over eventually and placed a kiss to your lips. “I’ll be back late.” He groaned and you succeed in pulling him back into bed, your tired body holding his. Shinsou’s face pressed against your chest as you hold him. 

“Don’t go.” You moan and he chuckles. 

“I wish, kitten.”

“Tell them you needed to save me. I’ll pretend to be injured.”

A proud smile lines your face as Shinsou chuckles, “Kitten if you’re the one in trouble, I don’t think I’d be strong enough to beat them.”

You scoff as Shinsou finally pulls away from your grasp, a smile on his face as he presses a kiss to your forehead. “Alright tiger, go get ‘em.” You whisper as he pinches your cheeks. You sigh from your bed as he stands up and leaves. The front door echoing throughout the house as he left.

The rest of your day had been boring. You were left to your own devices at home. Hell, you even walked to his agency to see if he was available for lunch with you, but the front desk lady profusely apologized as she shook her head. He was in important meetings about his rebranding. Shinsou was not available to talk.

You left back home sighing, a few hours after getting home, your phone buzzed.

My love: sorry, kitten. I heard you came for lunch, maybe next time when these guys stop being idiots.

You chuckled lightly as you stared at your figure in the mirror of your bedroom. Shinsou Hitoshi deserved to be spoiled tonight, and you were going to do everything in your power to make him feel extremely special. Walking over to your closet, you pulled out your simple black box, a smile curling over your features as you opened it.

It took no time for you to change. What you knew to be Shinsou’s favorite black piece secured to your body. It was black lace lingerie, the thong had more fabric in its intricate straps on your hips than the actual thong part. You attached the garter belt to the piece, then rolling thigh high stockings, a dark purple bow attached to the backside of it. You swapped your practical bra for the pieces set. It was also a black lace bra. It supported your breasts, pushing them up slightly to enhance the swell of it. Your hands adjusting the way they sat when you had it fastened.

It was a great set.

Grabbing two final pieces from the box, you walked over to your vanity mirror. Sitting down you pulled out your makeup. You knew you had around an hour until Shinsou would be back, most likely on time since he did not wish to be at work today. You looked over your makeup and began applying to your face. Making sure to not overdo it, you were sure that the way nights typically went, you didn’t want all of it being rubbed off on the pillowcases.

You gradually smoothed over the tinted makeup, applying the colors on your face to make everything pop in the way that brought out your features the best way. You smiled, appreciating how your face glowed in your reflection. With a confident nod, you grabbed the final pieces. 

A shiver trailed down your spine as the cold purple leather collar wrapped around your neck. It was always a bit too tight around your throat, something Shinsou enjoyed very much. He claimed it made face fucking you that much more intense. Clearing your throat, you nodded. The bell on the collar tingling slightly as you moved to the side, grabbing the final piece to your outfit.

You place the cat ears headband into place. Your eyes concentrated on your head as you adjusted it so that it sat nicely in place. You hoped it wouldn’t fall off as it did last time. 

Taking your favorite lipstick from its holder, you glide the wax against your lips. Your bottom lip dropping as you did so. You smack your lips together, a habit that refuses to die, as you place the lipstick down. A smile on your face as you brush your hair over your shoulder. Your fingers tangle in your hair as you stare at your reflection, a small pout on your face as you entertain yourself.

It’s working as your grin widens, but you shriek when arms wrap around you. A warm back pressing into your backside.

“You’re looking hot as hell.” The husky voice of Shinsou interrupted your panic. “You’re not supposed to be here yet!” You exclaim as you suddenly feel very, very embarrassed. As if you had been caught stealing his favorite food.

“Mm, I was able to sneak away early,” Shinsou stated, a proud smirk on his face as he presses his cheek against your neck. His hands gripping your waist immediately. “But why this get up kitten?” He asks, his lips ghosting down the side of your neck.

You lean into his touch, arching against his torso as you moan. “I… um…” You can’t collect your thoughts as he nibbles along your neck. His hips grinding slowly against yours, and your head almost falls backward from this sensation. “I wanted, oh my god, I want to surprise you since you had such a--oh my--long day at work…”

Shinsou’s lips come crashing against yours, and you fully succumb to him. He pulls you up off the chair, and you spin into his arms. You let his hands trail down your back to grasp your ass, and he lifts you up off the floor. Your legs immediately wrapping around him.

“Don’t you know, kitten?” Shinsou asks with a devious smile plastered on his face. “I am always surprised when it comes to you.”

You gasp as his lips are back on yours, and you can’t resist the way your body melts into his own. A whimper in your throat as his cold hands touch your warm body. You groan when he places you on the floor, the bell around your neck tingling with your dismay. “On your hands and knees, kitten. Daddy’s had a long day, and only you can help me.”

Sinking to your hands and feet, Shinsou takes a step back, smiling at your form. His hand rubs the back of his neck as he chuckles, “You are the best, you know that, kitten?”

A smile overcomes your features as you chuckle softly, “I know, my love.”

His eyebrow quirks and he nods his head, “I’ll forgive you just this once because you’re amazing.” Shinsou states and your cheeks flush with your realization of your mistake. 

You nod your head in grace as he reaches out, grabbing your already restricting collar, and you choke as you crawl towards him. Ass up, face looking at him.

“Such a sweet kitten,” Shinsou sighs and you moan as his hand comes down to spank you softly on your ass. You shake softly as your nose brushes against his clothed leg, your eyes still trying to stay on his. “Can you help me out, I’ve had such a terrible day?”

Your head nods eagerly, Shinsou didn’t like you to be verbal unless requested. Your eyes trained on him, and he pushed you so that you sat on your knees. Your legs rubbing together in excitement as Shinsou removed his belt. You breathe hitching as his pants came down alongside his underwear. His impressive cock bouncing at his semi-hard state. “I’ve only been home for so long, kitten, but I’m already hard for you.” You bite down on your lip, resisting the need to speak as Shinsou strokes his length, hot puff of air escaping his mouth as he stepped closer.

“Here, kitty, kitty,” Shinsou grins wickedly as you stretch forward, and his dick enters your mouth.

He groans as your hot mouth envelopes his cock, and you give him kitten licks as you stay still. Waiting for him to have his way with you.

You moan as he steps closer, his hands gripping your hair as his length falls further down your throat. The tip of his cock sliding down your throat. You gag softly against his length as Shinsou slowly starts to rock his hips back and forward into your eager mouth. You widen your mouth as his hips pick up in speed, your cheeks hollowing out to the best of your ability as he thrust away. He curses slightly as he roughens in his pace, and you choke as the collar is now restricting your breathing. 

“Relax, kitten.” Shinsou grunts as his thrusts are rhythmic, and you’re desperate in keeping up, saliva slowly pooling from your mouth as his breathing staggers. His pace quickening.

You moan around his cock, turned on by the fact he was being so harsh with you so quickly and he curses pulling away, “Stand up.” He commands. Panting, still attempting to gather your air, you stumble to your feet, and Shinsou yanks off your panties and garter belt. The belt clatters against the floor, and when the thong hit the floor, he pulls you off your feet. You muffle a scream by shoving your face into his neck as Shinsou has you on his hips, your aroused cunt sinking onto his cock. “I don’t want to hear you moan, or come without being told so.” Shinsou grunts as his hips rotate underneath you, and you slam your face further into his heated skin. The feeling too much, and your throat aching to make noise. “Confirm that you understand, kitten.” He barks, hand slamming against your bare ass.

You nod your head as you bounce on his cock, your eyes clenching as you muffle your moan. “Such a good kitten,” Shinsou sighs as he begins thrusting into you, and you bite down on your lip hard as your back is thrown on a wall. 

Shinsou’s hips are merciless as the pound into you, his typically slow and steady pace long forgotten as you bounce on his hips. Your hands slamming against the wall and clutching his hair as if it would give you some sort of relief. But the pressure of not making any noise it quickly getting to you, your core aching as his hips continue slamming away. It’s too premature, too soon in his action of slamming into you, his fingers only now paying attention to your clit. You choke back a noise as his fingers pinch your clit, a throaty laugh escaping his lips as your head bangs against the wall. 

“You’re doing so well, kitten.” He praises, “Taking my cock so well without even making a noise.”

You nod your head pathetically. You arousal seeming to seep out of you as Shinsou refuses to slow down. Your heaving chest nothing but something for Shinsou to bite onto as you can’t hold back anymore. You shriek out his name and come hard around him. Your walls nicely clenching around his as he stills within you.

Shinsou’s face conflicts with wanting to tease you and to punish you, but as it hardens, you know what he chose. “Well, you disobeyed me, kitten.” Shinsou states, and you groan, covering your face.

A throaty groan leaves your lips as he moves your right leg to the meet your left. All while in you, he moves over to the bed, sitting down with you on his lap. “Now you know what your punishment is, right?” 

Your head nods weakly.

“Good, good.” Shinsou sighs as his hands push your hair to the side. “You don’t get my dick in your pretty pussy anymore.” Your mouth presses into a fine line as you look down to where his dick is clearly in you. “Unless, of course, you can make me cum before your vibrator makes you cum.”

You hiss as he pulls you off his length, your body missing the fullness of having him within you.

You watch with hooded eyes as he grabs the vibrator, bringing it back as he undoes his shirt. “Bra off, kitten.” You follow his command, and sink on you knees, already knowing the position you were needing to take. Shinsou climbs onto the bed and slips the vibrator underneath your aching cunt. You shiver at the cold material, but Shinsou direct’s your attention back onto his hard dick as the vibrator turns on. 

Shinsou had it set to the highest setting and your body trembles on top of a hit as you lean forward. “Open your pretty mouth, kitten.” Shinsou grunts and you gasp as his head presses through your mouth. 

It’s completely overwhelming as his hips snap into your mouth, and the way the vibrator is merciless against your cunt. 

Your eyes roll to the back of your head as all you can do is let Shinsou have his way with you. Your gags are hardly audible as he is relentless in your mouth. Your legs begin to shake as your stomach's pressure continues to heighten. The head of his cock rams into the back of your throat and you choke, stimulating back to life as electricity seems to shoot down your body. Saliva once again escaping your mouth as moans, and screams are silenced by his moving hips.

You shake, unable to hold it in any longer, the sounds of the bell on your throat louder than anything right now.

Shinsou cums in your mouth, and you on the vibrator. You struggle to swallow his heavy load, choking sounds emitting from your mouth as he pulls away. His slowly softening dick falling down. You, also, fall of the vibrator, your legs shaking as Shinsou draws you near. His deep chuckles gaining your attention as you roll your eyes, cheeks flushed. 

“Thank you. y/n.” Shinsou whispers pressing a kiss to your lips as your hand searches out to turn off the vibrator. The kiss is sweet and you relish against his lips as he pulls you up onto his lap. “We did come at the same time though.”

“That we did.”

“Round two?”

“Only if you wear the collar and ears?”

“Ha, deal.”

[sociallyawkward--fics]

Be Careful of What Lurks in the Dark

Did I get restless writing the chapter fic because I really wanted to post something and then write this in under an hour and didn’t edit it because I really wanted to post something? Yes, yes I did. Also, there are characters from the Witcher 3 game in this, but they’re not like,,,, a big deal at all so it doesn’t matter much, I just know a lot of my readers only know the show. They’re more just mentioned in the background lol. 

But for reference: Cerys and Hjalmar are siblings and their dad is named Crach an Craite and they’re from Skellige

Edit PS: Ciri and Cerys were 100% like “go distract Geralt for us” and that was the best Jaskier could come up with on short notice lol

Word Count: 1018 words

Summary: Geralt hadn't exactly been excited to be dragged off to laser tag, but that didn't mean he wasn't at least going to try. At least, that was the case, until Jaskier decided to play a dirty trick on him.

[ao3 link]

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

Laser tag was not Geralt’s first choice for how to spend his afternoon.

Unfortunately for him, Jaskier and Ciri both had very convincing puppy-dog eyes, and Geralt was a weak-willed man. Was he meant to be able to say no to those faces? Geralt didn’t see how anyone could, and it further proved his theory that Yennefer was somehow magic, seeing as she seemed to be immune to Ciri’s tactics.

Either way, now Geralt was in a dark, humid room ducking behind corners and trying not to lose to a gaggle of children. Granted, Jaskier was also a very good shot, but unlike the kids, he didn’t seem to be trying nearly as hard.

Probably because he’d gotten the dream team of Cerys and Ciri being elected as an honorary “girl” for their girl power team. The two together were unbeatable, combining Cerys’ smarts and Ciri’s determination. Meanwhile, Geralt had been paired with Dara and Hjalmar. 

The boys may have been older and bigger, but they didn’t know how to work as a team. Hjalmar had a tendency to act before he thought, and Dara had a tendency to do the exact opposite. As a result, both boys ended up getting frustrated and running off to do their own thing instead of making a game plan.

Which left Geralt to crouch behind corners that glowed neon under the blacklights and hoping that one of his boys managed to snatch the flag when the girls and Jaskier weren’t looking. At least he was getting some pretty good shots in, pecking off Ciri and Cerys both whenever he saw them. He got furious pouts (Ciri) and swears for revenge (Cerys) everytime, of course, but he wasn’t deterred.

They wanted to play laser tag? Geralt was going to play laser tag.

He hadn’t managed to shoot Jaskier, yet. He didn’t even know where Jaskier was, he hadn’t seen him once since the game started. Even after sneaking circles around the arena at least twice, Jaskier was nowhere to be found. At least, until he found himself backed into a corner hiding from his own daughter and Jaskier popped up out of nowhere.

“Afraid of losing to a couple of teenagers, Geralt?” Jaskier whispered in a honey-sweet tone, poking his head up through the “window” on the wall to Geralt’s left.

Geralt rolled his eyes and tried to get his gun into position as subtly as he could. “It’s laser tag, Jaskier. I couldn’t care less who wins.”

Jaskier skirted around the corner of the wall to crouch in front of him, gun also held in a ready position. “Please, I’ve seen you play games with your brothers. I’ve seen you play games with me. You, dear heart, are far too competitive for your own good.”

“They’re kids, Jask. I’m not pulling that shit here.”

Jaskier shrugged and relaxed. His mistake.

“That’s fair,” he said, seemingly unaware of Geralt’s gun pointed straight at his vest. “You forgot one thing, though.”

Geralt paused, finger on the trigger. “And that is?”

Instead of replying, Jaskier surged forward and pressed his lips against Geralt’s. Geralt made a surprised noise and overbalanced, feeling himself get pushed up against the wall by Jaskier’s weight. It only took another moment before he closed his eyes and started kissing back with just as much fervor.

Geralt tried to keep it PG. There were still teens rushing around them, after all. But Jaskier pressed closer and closer and Geralt lost himself more and more to this kiss, making tiny little contented noises that he hoped the kids wouldn’t hear over the music blasting through the speakers. He spared a brief thought for if there were cameras in the room, and really hoped there weren’t any pointed toward the corner Jaskier had him pinned to.

Either way, making out with his fiance was proving to be a far more enjoyable time than chasing around children with a laser gun.

Only, when Geralt was just far enough gone to be a little fuzzy around the edges and dizzy with love, Jaskier pulled back. Geralt couldn’t quite catch the embarrassing whimper that escaped his lips at the loss of contact. He felt Jaskier’s breath puff across his cheek as he chuckled.

And then his eyes shot open at the sound of a laser gun.

Geralt looked down in shock to see that his own vest was now dark to show that he was out of commission. A little screen on his gun started counting down from fifteen, preventing him from shooting until his time “out” was finished.

“That I’m even more competitive than you are,” Jaskier said with a grin.

“Cover me!” Geralt heard Ciri shout.

Jaskier winked at him. “That’s my cue,” he said, and then he rushed out of their corner and into the maze beyond.

It took Geralt a moment to gather enough brain cells to understand what Jaskier had meant, and another moment to actually remember that he should get up and follow to see what all the shouting was about. When he walked back out into the maze, he saw Ciri rushing down another corridor, holding the flag from Geralt’s team. Cerys’s bright red braid trailed after her, clearing the way up ahead. Jaskier jogged backwards behind them both, shooting down the hallway at what Geralt could only assume was the boys.

And sure enough, after a moment, Geralt heard an outraged cry and Hjalmar raced forward to try and catch them. His vest had gone dark, but Geralt had no clue how much time he had left before he reset. Dara jogged after a moment later at a much more sedate pace, vest also having gone dark.

Geralt’s gun played a powering up sound as his own vest began glowing once more, but it was too late. The girls had already gotten the flag back to their own base. They had won.

One thing was for sure, though. Geralt was 100% buying them another round, and this time Jaskier was going down. He wanted to use trickery and lies to win? Two could play at that game.

[ahtohallan-calling]

chapter 24 of don’t read the last page is here!

masterpost

[kristanna / m / multichap / modern au with actress!anna and vetstudent!kristoff]

They all crowded around Anna’s shoulder, waiting with bated breath as she finished choosing a filter for the photo. “Wait,” Kristoff said suddenly, “should we check with Lena about this?”

Anna rolled her eyes. “Fuck Lena,” she said cheerfully, and pressed post.

---

It was, all things considered, not a particularly interesting day when it happened; it had been a scorcher of a late-July afternoon, and when Kristoff came home from the clinic he found Anna in the backyard lounging in a beach chair she’d finally caved and bought at Target when she could no longer get comfortable lying on a towel spread over the grass.

“Hi, honey,” she said around a mouthful of an orange push pop; the empty box had fallen over by her chair.

He laughed and leaned down to kiss her, setting his palm against the swell of her stomach. “Good thing I bought another box of those on my way home.

Anna thought nothing of it when the baby kicked in response; he’d done so for a while now at the sound of his father’s voice, but Kristoff froze, his face only an inch away from hers as his eyes widened.

Worried, she tilted her head. “Is everything alright?”

He swallowed hard. “Did you feel that?”

“Well, yeah, I’ve been feeling a lot of-- wait. Did you?”

He nodded, slowly, and as they stared at each other, stunned, another kick came, sharp enough this time that Anna yelped in surprise. “Okay, you had to have felt that one,” she groused. 

Kristoff nodded again, faster this time, as a laugh spilled from his lips. “It’s him,” he said, his eyes still wide. “I-- that’s him, Anna.”

Her eyes softened. “You know, we really ought to think of something to call him. I’m worried he’s going to get offended.”

A third kick came in response, and they both took it as a sign of agreement.

---

Sources say Westergaard has spent the past six weeks hiding out in his summer home in the Hamptons. When asked for comment, his representative told Buzzfeed, “Mr. Westergaard’s previous remarks were taken out of context and twisted by the media. He will be starting an anti cyberbullying foundation in his name. He asks that you respect his privacy during this difficult time.”

Sven looked up from the article Kristoff had printed and handed to him. “Shit, how the hell can anybody have a difficult time at a mansion in the Hamptons?”

“Show a little sympathy. The man’s just had to face the consequences of his actions for the first time in his life,” Kristoff said with a smirk. 

“Ought to hang out with a pregnant woman more often, he’d learn his lesson really quickly about the consequences of-- oh, hey, Anna,” Sven said with a grimace. “You, uh, you forgiven me yet for getting onions on the pizza?”

She scowled and crossed her arms, her eyes shooting daggers at him across the room, and he sighed and picked up his phone to order a new one.

---

“Anna?” 

She yelped in surprise and tugged the shower curtain back, coming face to face with a frowning Kristoff. “Jesus, you scared me. What’s wrong?”

“Sorry-- it’s just…” He frowned and held up his phone. “How does Twitter know I’m a vet?”

The bubbles in her hair forgotten, she leaned forward and squinted at the screen. “What? It’s just a picture of us leaving Chipotle.”

“Huh? Oh-- shit, sorry, let me scroll down to the replies.”

He pushed his glasses further up his nose as he did so before raising the phone screen again. “Look, they’re all sending me hamsters.”

She knew he was genuinely worried, and she was sympathetic, really she was, but Anna burst into laughter. “A hamster eating a banana.”

“Yeah, and they’re not supposed to even eat that much, so the bad pet ownership is bad enough already, but-- anyway, that’s beside the point, I--” He scowled. “Anna, I really don’t think this is funny.”

“It’s just a meme, Kristoff.”

“But I don’t get it.”

“Look at the picture of us again, and then the hamster, and then get back to me,” she said, yanking the shower curtain closed again. 

“But--”

“If you still haven’t gotten the joke by the time I figure out how to shave my ankles, then I’ll come explain.”

Twenty minutes later, when she emerged wrapped in a towel, she peered into the bedroom and saw Kristoff sitting on the bed, his face bright red, as he stared down at his phone. “Solve the mystery yet?” she asked drily as she dug through his t-shirt drawer for something to wear.

“My, uh, my little brother, he uh...he knows about memes, so I texted him, and I...uh…”

She laughed again as she finished getting dressed. “Did he laugh at you, too?”

He groaned and ran a hand over his face. “Pretty sure he’s still laughing.”

---

“Anna! Anna! Miss Arendelle!” She rolled her eyes and tightened the drawstring of her hoodie. Kristoff put an arm protectively over her shoulders as they continued hurrying out of the doctor’s office. “Miss Arendelle, please, if I could just--”

“You can not.”

“We just want to know if it’s a boy or a--”

She turned on her heel and said drily, “It’s a mountain troll, obviously.” She gestured irritably at Kristoff. “See? Takes after his father.”

The next morning, she woke up to the ding of a text from Sam. Maybe you really are better off being your own PR person.

A link to another Buzzfeed article was attached. Curious, she tapped it.

Watch Anna Arendelle’s Hilarious Comeback To A Nosy Photographer!

“Would you look at that,” she mumbled under her breath.

Next to her, Kristoff stirred and rolled over. “Look at what?” he mumbled.

“Nothing. Go back to sleep, mountain man.”

---

Anna came home from a meeting one night and caught Kristoff piled up in the recliner reading one of her pregnancy books. To her surprise, his face was ghost-white. “Kris,” she asked, concerned, “what’s wrong? You look like you’re going to be sick.”

“Just, you know, reading about the labor part.”

“Is it grossing you out that bad?” She couldn’t help but giggle. “You’re a vet, I’m sure you’ve seen worse. Especially with this stuff.”

He looked up then, and to her surprise, his eyes were solemn behind his glasses. “It’s different when you’re picturing your fiancee.”

All the air in her lungs escaped her in a quiet oh. She crossed quickly to the bed and climbed up, crawling towards him. He set the book on the nightstand and looked up at her, worry still in his eyes, as she settled her knees on either side of his lap. Out of habit, he set one hand on the swell of her stomach, the faintest of smiles appearing on his face when a little foot nudged against his hand.

“It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart,” she said softly, settling her own hands on his shoulders. “It’ll all be fine.”

“Sometimes it’s not, though.” 

She winced, and immediately he was apologetic. “I-- shit, sorry, I’m not trying to scare you, it’s just--”

“No, no, you’re right,” she reassured him, gently squeezing his shoulders. “Sometimes it’s not. But it will be. You know me, I’m too stubborn to let anything go wrong.”

“I don’t think it works like that.”

She bit her lip; she had never seen him like this, never known him to be so nervous he couldn’t be comforted. She leaned forward, resting her forehead against his. “What part is scaring you?” she asked, her voice low.

“I don’t want to see you hurting. Especially when I know I can’t do anything to help.”

“You can help. Just having you in there will do so much.”

“But it won’t stop it,” he said, his voice forlorn, and she kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger there as she nuzzled her nose against his temple.

“No. But that’s what epidurals are for.”

“What if--” he said before trailing off, not daring to even give voice to the words.

“Kristoff Bjorgman, you listen to me,” she said, pulling back and waiting to continue until he reluctantly met her gaze. “I have no doubt in my mind that everything will be fine. Okay? I just-- I just won’t let anything bad happen.”

“But you can’t--”

“Have you ever seen anything stop me from doing what I want before?”

She felt him shake his head no. 

“So nothing will stop me this time. I’m going to have this baby-- our baby-- and we’re both going to be fine, and you will too, and when we get to hold him, then you’ll forget you were ever worried about this at all.”

---

Anna and the interviewer both threw back their heads with a laugh as Mattias finished telling them both about his first time at the Oscars and how he’d failed to recognize the man who’d just won Best Actor-- twice.

“How about you, Miss Arendelle?” the interviewer asked as Anna finished wiping the last tear of laughter from her eye. “How do you feel about going to your first Oscars next year?”

She felt her cheeks coloring. “Oh, well, we’ll see if we even get there.”

The interviewer laughed. “Modest as always. There’s already lots of Oscar buzz around the movie and your performance in particular.”

Anna shifted awkwardly in her seat. “Um. Sort of like puking, if I’m honest.”

That got them both laughing again. “Speaking of puking, though,” the interviewer said cheerfully, “what’s it like being a first-time mother and a first-time movie star simultaneously?”

“Amazing and terrifying and wonderful and just...so many things all at once,” she admitted. “I really couldn’t do it without my support network, especially my fiance. It’s just...yeah. I can’t thank everybody enough.”

“Speaking of your fiance...are you willing to share your thoughts on where in the world Hans Westergaard has run off to?”

Her lips curled up into a smirk.

---

“Remind me to get more tomato juice at Trader Joe’s today,” Anna called as she pored through another script that had been sent her way-- another period drama, but this one, at least, wouldn’t involve squeezing her recently-pregnant body into a corset.

“We don’t need to,” he replied as he came into the kitchen carrying a basket of freshly dried towels. “You’ve been going through it so fast this week I set up one of those Amazon weekly delivery things. There’ll be three gallons of it on the porch in--” He glanced at his watch. “An hour. Wanna help me fold all this shit and watch HGTV?”

She stared at him for a long moment as he passed her, absentmindedly whistling one of the songs she’d driven him crazy with that winter, and walked into the living room.

It occurred to her, all of a sudden, that some things were worth waiting for-- but that sometimes, there was no longer any worth in waiting.

“Kris?” she said as he set the basket down.

“Yeah, baby?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as she crossed over to him and stood between his knees.

She cupped his face in her hands, studying his expression as he smiled softly and set his own hands on her hips. “Can I say something crazy?”

“You usually don’t bother asking.”

Under normal circumstances, she would have laughed and leaned down to kiss him, but instead she broke into a wide smile. “What if we just got married?”

[fangirlspammer]

Sparks Fly (part 5)

I'm not entirely happy with my writing in this chapter, so please bare with me🤧 this took longer than I wanted

Gif credit @regal-roni

6 weeks had come and gone since you had been suspended from NCIS, since you had refused to talk...since you kissed Jack. Since then you had apologized to Vance and agreed to talk to someone. Vance had suggested Agent Sloane, but you had been quick to request Dr. Grace instead. He hadn't questioned it, only agreed and informed you that Dr. Grace would determine when you could return to work. As frustrating as this whole situation had become you had agreed. The longer you were away from the team, the more anxious you became. 6 weeks was far too long to be away. Bishop and you had gotten drinks with Torres a few nights, but the case they were working on now was a big one and they hadn't really had time for social calls.

"Waiting on her to come out of that thing?" Travis' voice caused you to nearly jump off of the kitchen island.

You furrowed your brow and let go of the phone you had been staring at for the past ten minutes. "What?"

He shook his head with an amused smirk dancing on his lips. "Nevermind. You're popcorns done you know," he gestured towards the microwave and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl beside you. He watched you go back into your daydream and sighed. "You haven't heard from her have you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," it took all you had to hop off the counter and retrieve your popcorn from the microwave. You pouted when it was just barely warm now. You must have dazed off longer than you thought. "Besides, how would you know?"

Travis chuckled and rolled his eyes. "You won't stop staring at your phone, and you've been extra distracted," he shrugged and grabbed some frozen waffles from the freezer. "Besides, popcorn for breakfast? You must be distracted," you hated that he knew you so well.

"Well it's just the opposite. I have heard from her," you sighed and locked your phone for the third time in 60 seconds. You looked up to see him put the waffles in the toaster and hopped back on the island. "Sorry," you mumble when you realize that you came in here to do just that.

"Then what's the problem?"

You focused in on your fingers fiddling in front of you and shook your head slightly. Travis set a plate out and then took a step towards you. You swallowed. "I just don't know how to talk to her right now. I've been dodging her calls for 6 weeks," you looked up and ran your hands through your hair with frustration.

Travis reached over and stole a piece of popcorn, popping it into his mouth and gave a teasing smirk. "Well, I'm not sure how to help. You see, I myself am in a serious relationship now, and am no longer succumbed to the problems that come with the single life."

You rolled your eyes and kicked at his shin. "You really are an ass sometimes," you stuck your tongue out. In reality you were happy for Travis and Lydia. Things had finally worked out for them, it only took forever, but they were happy. Engaged even! You envied them.

"I think you need to suck it up and face her," he was serious now and you silently cursed him for throwing your own words back in your face. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Uhm, she could hear me??" You scoffed and crossed your arms.

"Oh come on, what's that pout for now? You're going to see her today regardless. You may as well make it less awkward," he shrugged.

"Because you're right," you muttered in annoyance, "and I hate it when you're right," you rolled your eyes and hopped off the island.

You walked over and grabbed your popcorn before heading for you room. You had a stash of M&Ms in there and you needed the privacy. Lydia would be over soon to talk about the wedding and you knew if you stayed she would pull you in, and you needed to talk to Jack as well as get ready for work. Just as you sat down at your desk your phone rang. How did she manage to do this?

"It's like you can sense my every move," you answered after the second ring. You tried to sound light hearted but you were nervous.

"I figured my 50th time had to be the winner," she retorted sarcastically.

You could hear the smile in her voice and your stomach did a flip. You frowned. This was exactly what you were avoiding. "I know, I know. I'm really sorry about that Jack," you sighed, running a hand through your hair.

"Are you coming in today? Vance said you had been given the all clear."

Did she sound hopeful? "I mean I may have to be persuaded. After all, I was sure hoping to get in one last week of lying in my pyjamas and eating my weight in take out and tubs of ice cream," you smirked. Falling back into this playful banter was easier than you thought, and that put you at ease.

"Hmm," she sighed. "It's not exactly ice cream, but what about coffee and a blueberry muffin? My treat," she offered.

You let out a dramatic sigh as you pretended to think about this offer. "Alright, I've be persuaded."

"Great! See you in 10?"

"See you then," you agreed and hung up the phone.

You jumped off the bed and raced around the room to find the perfect outift. You grabbed some black jeans, a green cashmere sweater, boots and your leather jacket. You tied up your hair in a high ponytail and quickly painted your face. As you rushed out of the room you nearly tripped over your go-bag and Travis snorted in amusement.

"Going somewhere?" He asked knowingly. "Thought you weren't due for another hour?"

"Change of plans," you huffed and tossed your bag over your shoulder. Just as you rushed out the door you ran into Lydia walking up the path. You said a quick hello and goodbye before jumping in your car. You hadn't realized how eager you were to let your guard down and face Jack. Maybe it wasn't facing her that you were eager for, maybe it was just seeing her again. Either way, you couldn't get there quick enough.

*

Jack sat in her usual booth in the back of the diner. She had already started her second cup of coffee and eaten part of her breakfast donut before you had even arrived. She tapped her fingers nervously while glancing out the window every few seconds. The only thing on her mind, when she had a free moment, was that kiss the two of you had shared. She just couldn't shake the feelings that surged inside of her when your lips touched. It was something she hadn't felt in a long time, but even still it was different. When she had pulled away it was only to make sure it was what you had wanted, but when you told her to leave it was all but confirmed that it wasn't what you wanted at all. She had tried calling and texting, but you never returned any of her messages.

That night had helped her see things for what they truly were, and seeing that hurt. When she had dropped by to meet you that first night, with that faulty story, she hadn't expected you to be... Well you. She hadn't expected to be invited for dinner, let alone stay in your home unsupervised. That there told her all that she needed to know about you. Once she got to know you her thoughts had been confirmed and this feeling in the back of her mind kept becoming more clear as time went on. These were feelings she had to keep bottled up, because from past experiences she knew getting involved with a co-worker was dangerous. San Diego had proven just that and she wouldn't put herself out there like that again. If you didn't want to talk about it then she was going to pretend like it never happened. It's what was best.

The bells rang as the diner door opened up and Jack couldn't help but look towards it eagerly. She gave a small smile as you walked over and took a seat. Her fingers tapped the side of her mug until she noticed you watching curiously, and realized that neither of you had said a word yet.

"You got here fast," she moved the coffee to her lips to busy herself.

"I was already prepared to ditch out any minute," you lied with a little chuckle.

"Oh?" Her brow arched curiously.

You shrugged. "Travis' fiance was coming over to talk wedding and I didn't really want to stick around."

"Travis is engaged?" She couldn't help but sound surprised.

"Oh that's right," you grinned. "I forgot you meet him when-" you stopped quickly when you remembered the kiss. You broke eye contact and looked to the glass of water in front of you. You cleared your throat and decided to bypass that conversation. "He got engaged three weeks later. They've known each other since grade school."

Jack gave a small smile when you carried on. By the way you avoided the conversation she figured you weren't going to acknowledge the kiss at all. It probably wasn't the best option, but it was the easiest for now. "Y/N," she started, but when you made eye contact she couldn't bring herself to carry on. "Don't forget to order. It's on me remember?"

You felt your shoulders relax and breathed out quietly in relief that she didn't carry on. You knew it couldn't be avoided forever, but you could try couldn't you? What was the use in getting all flustered and risking losing one of your closest friends? After you ordered, and the food came, you both began to relax and fall into easy conversation. You admitted how you were nervous about returning after your big scene, and Jack told you about the case they were currently working on.

"It's Gibbs," you confessed as the phone rang and quickly answered. "Hi boss," you greeted with a smile, but it vanished when he carried on about a body and hung up. "So much for that morning work out," you sighed, standing and grabbing your purse.

"Got a lead?" Jack asked curiously.

"Another dead body by the marina," you gave an apologetic look. "I'm sorry."

Jack shook her head and forced a smile. "Don't be. I'll catch up with you later on," she shrugged and waved you off with a smile. A part of her was relieved to see you go, only because it gave her that much time to figure out how to talk to you.

*

The moment you came back into the office things had been non-stop. First was the discovery of a body, and when you all arrived at the scene of the crime you were to discover that the male had been bludgeoned from behind. Secondly was the discovery that the male Lieutenant Cromwell, had a wife and a child that were now missing. As of now your suspect was the wife, and you had issued a BOLO on her.

"Coffee, anyone?" Jack entered the bullpen with a big, sympathetic smile on her face while carrying a tray of coffees for the team. She had gotten wind of the big case you all had been working on from Jimmy, and knew that this would be a long night for the team.

"God bless you, Agent Sloane," McGee accepted his steaming cup and took a long drink.

"You are an Angel," Bishop chimed in with a wide smile.

Jack just rolled her eyes and laughed. She turned to you and handed you your cup. "Sugar with a dash of coffee and cream," she smirked. The two of you shared the same order, and you both got teased for it often.

"She brings me my lifeline too?" You grinned, but immediately blushed and took a long said to hide it. You saw her eyes focus on you a little longer before her attention was turned to Gibbs as he cleared his throat.

"I didn't forget about you, Cowboy," she laughed and set his cup on the edge of his desk. "How's the case getting along?" Gibbs only grunted in response, so she looked to the rest of you for some sort of an answer. "Do you need any help?"

"Nope," Gibbs stated simply.

Just as Jack turned to go, McGee spoke up. "Actually, Y/N mentioned needing some," he admitted innocently.

"Oh, well, I think I've got it for now," you shook your head and forced a small smile. "I'll let you know though," you locked eyes for a moment before she nodded and slowly retreated. If the two of you were left alone you had a feeling that something would come of it, and you didn't need the distraction.

Just then Jimmy came into the bullpen out of breath. It was as though he had run all the way up here. "Gibbs!" He called out and the entire team looked to him. Gibbs greeted him with a glare. "Agent Gibbs... sir," he rambled on.

"Get to it, Jimmy."

"Right," Jimmy cleared his throat and looked down at the clipboard he held to his chest.  "It wasn't the wife," he began and paused, but Gibbs' stare told him that there was no more patience to be held.  "With closer observation, I noticed that the wounds were about 4 inches deep and towards the top of his skull.  Kasey and I were discussing it, and with the full description she was able to find on the wife, it couldn't have been her."

"Well, why not?" Gibbs barked.  He hadn't been in the greatest mood today.  Toress had made a comment to the team about Fornell coming in that morning, and so it was concluded his mood might have to do with Emily's drug problem.  No one knew for sure though, it was all just pure speculation.

"She was 5'4"," you spoke up, looking up from your paperwork.

"That's right, and the Lieutenant was 6'2", wasn't he?" Jack piped up this time.

"Exactly," Jimmy nodded and handed the clipboard to Gibbs to show the results of his investigation.  "Kasey did some digging on the wife, and it showed that Mrs. Randall had her last round of chemotherapy 4 months ago.  She wasn't tall enough to bludgeon the Lieutenant from that angle, and she wouldn't have been strong enough for the murder weapon to go that deep," he explained.

"So what does this mean?" McGee questioned fearfully.

"It means we have two missing people on our hands," you looked to the team and then went back to your desk to do some more research.  This night had gotten much longer.

*

For the rest of this week this case was your sole focus.  NCIS was sent a ransom note the day before last, and your team had been working hard to come up with the right plan all while trying to figure out a way to abide by the ransom.  Every night this week you had come home after midnight, completely exhausted, and you started all over at 7 am. With everything on your mind you had been able to get rid of the thoughts of your kiss with Jack.  The two of you had been busy enough that you didn't have to work to hard to avoid her when it wasn't case related, and you hadn't seen Travis enough for him to tease you about it.

You woke up at 5:30 am Friday morning, completely restless.  This case was only getting worse, and you wanted it to be over with.  If you couldn't get to Mrs. Randall and her daughter in time, you didn't think you would be okay.  The child was only 5 years old.  The thought of putting a child through something like this made you sick, and it had you questioning the humanity of these suspects and murderers that you saw day in and day out.  The only reason you survived this job was, because as much sickness you saw on a daily basis, you saw twice as much goodness when the cases were closed.  Even when a case didn't turn out the way you hoped, you told yourself that at least you were able to give their families closer.  It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep you going when you needed it the most.

As you got out of bed, you lazily made your way through your morning routine.  There was no use trying to get that extra hour of shut eye.  You made a fresh pot of coffee, threw a waffle in the toaster and went to hop in a quick, cold shower to wake you up.  Jack popped in your mind as you ran your hands through your hair.  You could still feel her lips on yours, the way that she had kissed back for a split second.  Your heart began to race and you let the cold water run over your face for awhile before turning off the shower. You stepped out and began to dry off and get dressed.  By the time you grabbed your breakfast and made it out of the house, Jack was the last thing on your mind once more.

You focused on the case the whole drive, and when you arrived at NCIS you realized that you were the first one on the team there.  The silence was killing you when you sat and tried to get some work done, and with a huff you stood up and made your way down to the gym.  You needed to clear your head and get a fresh perspective on everything. You tied up your hair and slipped on your gloves, standing ready at the punching bag.  It wasn't long before you were going at it, music in your ears, and you could feel your thoughts cleansing as the time went on.

"Thought I'd find you in here," a voice came from behind after awhile and you froze up a bit.  You didn't know how long you had been down here or how long she had been standing behind you at this point.

This was what you had been avoiding all week.  Once Ellie told you that Jack had been asking about you all day, you knew that it was only a matter of time before she found you.  Of course, you had assumed she had gone home hours ago, but apparently not.  Now you were trapped in the gym with her, and you didn't have an excuse to get out of it this time.

"Jack, I don't really have time to talk," you knew she wouldn't buy it.  She didn't answer and you stopped hitting the punching bag to look behind you.  She was bent over with her hair flung over her head, trying to tie her hair up and out of her face.  You swallowed hard seeing how her sweats formed to her body so well.  Your mind started to wander and you had to turn away when she stood up.  "What are you doing?"

She shrugged as she began to pull on some gloves.  "This seems to be the only way that I can get you alone."

You shook your head and walked over to your bag.  "I was just leaving," you hated yourself for being so distant with her, but what else could you do?

She stood in front of you now.  "Y/N, please just talk to me," her big brown eyes had a certain longing in them.  "We can be professional about this, can't we?"

"Professional?" you almost scoffed and her eyes widened a bit.  "Jack, I can't be professional around you when all you want to do is discuss the least professional thing I've ever done."

"You were upset," she was trying to make excuses that not even she was buying.

"Because you wouldn't stop prying.  I shouldn't have done it," you shook your head.  "It was stupid and unprofessional, and it's not like it meant anything to me anyways," you didn't even realize what you had said before you saw Jack step back.  That was too far.  Did she look... disappointed?  No.  She couldn't be.  Why would she be.  "Jack I-"

"No," she put her hand out and forced a small smile.  "You're right," you swore that you heard her voice crack.  "It didn't mean anything.  You were going through something, and I just happened to be there for you."

She was playing this off to easily for your liking.  "Right," you whispered and looked away.  She turned to leave and you didn't know what came over you, but you reached out to stop her.  "Did it mean something?" your eyes were hopeful this time.

Jack's big brown eyes searched yours for some sort of angle, but she couldn't find one.  You wanted an honest answer, and she wanted to answer honestly, with all of her being, but if you didn't feel the same way then she could risk losing you.  "Y/N," her voice was so low that if you weren't looking at her you wouldn't have heard.

"It meant something, Jack," you confessed and felt hot tears sting your eyes.  "I didn't mean what I said before, but I didn't think you wanted me to admit how much it did mean.  I was vulnerable, you aren't wrong about that, but that is something I had wanted to do for a long time," your confessions just seemed to flow out of you with no filter now.

Jack looked up at you, her eyes flashing with hope and longing. You watched her tongue come out to wet her lips. She swallowed hard and you could see her chest rising and falling a bit heavier now. You looked back up at her as soon as you realized that you were staring, but it was no use. She had seen your eyes wander and a smirk played upon her lips now. "Do you mean that?"

You nodded slowly, closing the distance between the two of you now. Your heart was racing more than ever and you felt her hand reach out, her fingers slowly entwining with yours. Now you were the one wetting your lips. "With every fiber of my being," you whispered.

It wasn't long before Jack closed the gap between the two of you. Her hand reached up to brush the loose strands of hair from your face and her nose brushed against yours. Her breathing was shaky and it was the sexiest sound you had ever heard. You couldn't wait anymore and leaned in to brush your lips over hers. Once...twice...your lips locked this time and a soft moan escaped your lips as the kiss deepened. Your arms reached up and wrapped around her, pulling her closer than before until you both were lost in a heated moment of passion. The moment was cut too short by a clearing of the throat from behind you both. You both jumped back, hearts racing and eyes wide, to see Director Vance standing in the doorway. His arms were folded and he didn't look too happy.

"Leon," Jack was the first to speak up. You silently thanked her for that, since the two of them were so close. Maybe that would soften whatever form of punishment would come your way? "We were just-"

"Never you mind what you were just doing," he frowned. "Gibbs got a lead. He's been trying to get ahold of you both, but I can see you were otherwise occupied."

You bit your lip nervously and decided to grab your things as quickly as possible. You looked at your phone. 2 missed calls. You knew Gibbs didn't like even 1 missed call. You held the phone to your ear as you played the voicemail and your eyes widened. "They have a lead on where they're being held. I have to go," you rushed towards the door.

"I'll go with you!" Jack called out and reached for her things.

"I don't think so Agent Sloane," Vance shook his head with curious eyes. You weren't sure if he was upset or if he was just looking out for a good friend. "You'll best serve here."

Jack looked to you apologetically, but you just smiled and shook your head. "It's fine Jack," you assured her before you turned to go. This was certainly the start of something new. You only hoped that it wouldn't cost either of you too much.

[levlumos]

I LOVE YOU, I KNOW→ LEVASIN

TAGGING → Lev Lumos & Kally Ambrosius ( @kalasinambrosius )

TIMELINE → October 31, 2020

SETTING → Kally’s dormroom at ASU 

SUMMARY → At the stroke of midnight, Lev pops the question that he and Kally have known has been coming ever since they got together, set to one of their favorite movies.

"I'm thirsty!" Lev decided loudly, hopping up from his cuddly position on the couch with Kally. "Do you want anything?" he asked as he pressed pause on The Empire Strikes Back and hastened over to where their drinks were. His movements were a little bit jerky and truthfully, he wasn't really thirsty, but it was hard to keep thinking of excuses to pause their favorite movie so that the timing of tonight's surprise would work out exactly like he wanted it to.

Kally had always had mixed feelings about Halloween, so spending the night before it curled up watching Star Wars with Lev had seemed like the perfect calm before the storm. It was too bad that her boyfriend seemed anything but calm as he jarred her from her comfortable position on his shoulder yet again. "I'm going to have to finish this movie using an actual pillow instead of my human one, aren't I?" she teased, not thinking anything of it as she folded her knees underneath her on the couch and went back to reading Damerey fanfiction on her phone.

"No pillow's allowed to take my place," Lev teased back, returning with a drink that was promptly ignored. "I'm your human pillow for life." His heart pumped loudly at the phrase 'for life' as he settled on the couch, resting a hand on Kally's knee. His eyes darted between the clock and the movie, and soon enough, the time had come. He'd been nervous all night but now, all he felt was excited. 

Getting onto one knee in front of Kally on the couch, Lev grinned up at her. "Hey, Kally... I love you," he started, saying the las three words along with Leia as he reached for his pocket.

Kally's lips quirked up in an involuntary smile at Lev's comment. They always seemed to do that, whenever he was so casual about the prospect of forever with her. Like it was an inevitability, and not just a possibility. She'd always dreamed that love would be amazing, but she'd never thought it would be as perfect as this, and she was so content in the moment that she almost didn't notice when the mood changed. Suddenly, though, the clock was striking midnight right as Star Wars's most iconic love scene was on the screen. Kally replied "I know" along with Han, but her eyes weren't on the fantasy couple. Instead, they were on Lev's hands, reaching for his pocket, and she held her breath, trying to keep her mind blank instead of jumping to conclusions about what he could be reaching for.

The timing with the movie worked perfectly but for the first time, Lev didn't care about what was happening in Star Wars. "I spent a lot of time thinking about how I was going to do this," he admitted, pulling out a ring box. "Especially because I've had the ring on me basically since the first week we started dating. I kept thinking I had to wait for a big exceptional moment, but every moment is big and exceptional when I'm with you. And then I thought, since we love to make better memories in place of old ones, maybe from now on Halloween can be a day about us." He cleared his throat and opened the ring box with a huge smile on his face. "Kalasin Ambrosius, you are the love of my life, and I've wanted to marry you for so long now that it feels like a dream to be formally, finally be asking -- will you marry me?"

Of course Kally's mind had jumped straight to proposal when she'd seen Lev down on one knee, but she'd dreamed of this moment for so long that she hadn't dared to hope. Even before they'd ever gotten together, she'd idly doodled Mrs. Kalasin Lumos on her notes for fanfics she wanted to write, and the moment they'd gotten together, the dream had felt so within her reach. Still... they'd had such willpower about not running off and eloping, she'd assumed that a proposal was a ways off, once Lev was nearly done with law school and their real lives started. Only... that was silly, to think like that. For Kally, it felt like her real life had already started the moment she had found out Lev loved her just as much as she loved him. "Yes," she blurted out, sliding off of the couch so that she was on her knees, eye level with him. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, a hundred million times yes," she emphasized, her heart pounding against her ribcage as she locked eyes with Lev, unable to look at the ring or the movie or anything but him. The love of her life, the man she was going to marry.

Lev had loved Kally's face since the first time he saw it. The more he knew her, the more he was able to see every emotion as it happened. Watching her react to the proposal, right down to her getting down on her knees, was such a joy. And those eyes, her amazing incredible blue eyes -- seeing those so close to him after he'd finally gotten to ask what he'd been holding back for months made him feel deliriously happy. "Yes!" he laughed, repeating her answer, "oh my gosh, yes, yes, yes! I knew you were going to say that, or at least I mostly knew, but it's still the most beautiful sound I've ever heard in the world!" He leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips, using the hand that wasn't holding the ring to reach over and hold one of hers. When he pulled back, he was still smiling so hard that his face hurt. "So... did I actually manage to surprise you? I was so sure I wouldn't, it feels like you can read my mind sometimes!"

Kally giggled, a mixture of nerves and excitement and complete relief all rolled into one. This was a big moment! The biggest so far of her whole entire life, in fact, and no matter how many times she might have imagined it, none of her fantasies felt as good as the real thing. It was so simple, so perfect, so them, and once he broke away from her, she peppered his face in more kisses, unable to get enough of them. "I can say it a thousand more times if you want," she promised, and had a feeling she'd do exactly that, as soon as they could share their news with the whole world and she could gush about her fiance. For now, though, this moment was theirs, only theirs, and she nodded her head emphatically. "Yes, you really surprised me! If you hadn't hurried up and asked me soon I might have ended up doing it myself, but Star Wars feels way more right than the Pokeball I was planning on using," Kally teased as she arranged the ring on her finger and finally looked at it, staring in awe. "It's perfect. You're perfect. I just..." she began, then shook her head, cutting herself off. "I don't even think I could find the right words to tell you how happy I am right now."

Every little kiss Kally pressed onto Lev's face warmed his chest more and more until it felt like he could sink and melt and die into how happy he was. "I'd love that," he breathed. Lev was a little surprised that he'd surprised Kally, but if he could ever pull off just one surprise in their long loving life together, he was glad it was this one. "A Pokeball proposal? Aww, that would've been so cute! Especially because I do choose you. I do, and I would, every single time." He was getting into gushy, sexy mode right now, but he couldn't help it! Seeing that ring on her finger made a wave of emotions wash over him, ranging from wanting to press cutesy kisses all over her face to wanting to ravage her senseless. The amazing thing was that they'd have time for both, and their time started here, together, now. "Well, fiance, maybe you can show me then," Lev grinned, pulling her in for what was sure to be a heck of a celebration.

[profitinaecho]

Echo Appreciation Day 2: A Missing Scene

Liz had asked Max to keep Diego entertained while she was at work for a few hours- with the promise of doing a certain sex act that was usually off limits if he helped her. He definitely would have helped her anyway, but that was definitely a bonus. Walking into the Wild Pony flanked by Diego, Max pauses when he sees Kyle sitting by himself cradling a whiskey at the bartop.

“What are the odds…” Max mumbles to himself, going over to his friend and clapping him on the back. “What’s up man? Have you met Diego?”

“The ex fiance?” Kyle’s brown eyes bug out comically, before remembering his manners and holding his hand out to Diego. “Nice to meet you.”

Diego shakes the shorter latino man's hands, his eyes crinkling in amusement. “You were her first boyfriend, Kyle.”

“That’s me.” Kyle affirms, realizing they are standing in size order- Diego, to Max then himself. “Do yall want to join me or would that be weird?”

“Not any weirder than us hanging out to begin with.” Max shrugs. He is secure in his relationship with Liz. He knows she loves him, but do all her exes have to have eight pack abs and be so damn attractive? The only thing they all seem to have in common is dark hair and dark eyes. Otherwise the three of them are so different- just like the role they played in Liz’s life story.

“What on earth would we have to talk about?” Diego smirks playfully, plopping down to the right of Kyle, while Max takes the seat on Kyle’s other side on the bar top. He is truly a mountain of a man and if Max were into that sort of thing, he could see where Diego would be the epitome of male perfection. It only makes him slightly insecure. Really.

Coming around the corner from the staff room, Maria sees Liz’s past and future relationships all sitting in a row and pauses a moment in surprise. Composing herself, she brings over a bottle of tequila. “You guys look like you could use this. Don’t worry, tequila is keto” Maria comments, setting down the entire bottle of wells tequila and three shot glasses in front of them. She is just glad that Michael isn’t here right now because he would be giving his big brother hell.

After they each take a shot of the cheap but cooled tequila, Diego asks, “Do you think she actually loved you or just thought it was what was expected of her?”

Kyle sputters on the shot he just took then coughs. Liz Ortecho puts him in more weird situations than anyone on earth- and she wasn’t even one of the aliens. “Uh. We were only together in high school. I think she enjoyed the protection and popularity of being with me because I played football and she got to wear my letter jacket. She just did it because it was safe. I was the training wheels before she started her life. Good thing too, because it would have been awkward if we had gotten married then found out I was her sister’s half brother.” Kyle shakes his head then takes the lime Max offers him to chase his shot.

Kyle pours himself another shot and takes it, while Max claps him on the back comfortingly. They both know that if Max had ever been brave enough to make a move in high school, Kyle would have been out of the picture. Kyle was just the one brave enough to make a move and had always felt comfortable to her. Rosa and her father had never liked him though- first because he was a douche in high school, and then because Arturo knew Max was the one for his youngest daughter. Max and Diego both follow with a second shot of their own. It’s been over a decade and Max isn’t bitter any more, but it is always weird seeing someone you know has touched your girlfriend. Kyle was her first, but Max will be her last. They are her past loves and he is her forever.

“You guys aren’t technically related. Liz checked your DNA.” Max hiccups. He’s always been a lightweight and two shots of tequila in a short period of time almost has him at his limit.

“She probably checked all of our DNA to see if we were genetically compatible to have children with.” Diego pipes up. He takes another shot, then smiles dreamily. “She always came up with the most genius experiments. Things no one would ever think of, with far reaching implications. She was determined to get a Nobel Prize.”

“She still will someday.” Max says proudly. He just hopes it isn’t using alien DNA that gets her there. He doesn’t need that kind of exposure for himself and his family.

Kyle pours them all another shot and jubilantly exclaims, “Cheers!” Standing up wobbly on the bottom rungs of his bar stool, Kyle reaches across the bar to grab 3 limes for them. “Woo!” He exclaims, popping a lime in his mouth to suck on and handing the other two men one as well.

“Liz always put the lab over everything. Me. Sex. Feelings. To this day, I don’t know if she said yes because she was sleep deprived and the ring was shiny or if she actually loved me.” Diego sighs dramatically, pouring himself another shot. Max is losing track of what shot number they are on and knows he needs to slow down if he is going to be driving. Based on the number of limes in front of each of them, he will probably be calling an uber.

“Really? We have quickies before she leaves usually.” Max tries not to be smug that he finally has something Diego doesn’t have- Liz’s love and attention. Maria gasps on the other side of the bar as she walks by. Max’s tongue is starting to get loose and as one of Liz’s best friends, it is Maria’s job to rein him in. “Shhhh! Liz can’t know we’re talking about her. She’s scary when she’s mad.”

“Hey, Max? Can I see your keys?” Maria asks innocently, taking the set of keys he offers her with the little cowboy alien on them. She will see how drunk they are when they are done but is prepared to call all three of them an Uber- or Liz.

Maria pulls out her phone and quickly texts Liz.

Maria: You might want to come get your boys.

Liz: Max and Diego? Why? Is Max doing karaoke again?

Maria: Nope. Worse.

Maria snaps a photo of all three men with empty shot glasses in front of them and an almost empty bottle of tequila. Max is leaning on Kyle to stay up and Diego is red eyed and crying. She quickly sends it to Liz.

Liz: OMG. I can leave in 30 if you keep them distracted. Why is Kyle there too? All they have in common is me.

Maria: He was here first trying to find a liquor with no carbs. On it, girl.

“We would have been married by now, you know.” Diego sniffs, wiping a tear from his eye. “I don’t know why I’m crying. She was just so perfect.”

“She’s not perfect. She has flaws. It’s a facade to make her feel worthy of love. But I love her anyway, easily.” Max stares off dreamily thinking about his first kiss with Liz.

“Dude. I’ve heard this story already.” Kyle rolls his eyes. “The sunlight was perfect and you laid it all out and she kissed you.”

While the men are distracted, Maria refills their tequila bottle with water. “Shots?” She asks, refilling all their glasses with water.

“This tequila tastes funny.” Diego sniffs it, then shrugs and takes the shot of water.

“I bought Liz a ring! It’s on hold at the jewelry store until I manage to get her ring size without waking her up.” Max blurts out, gesturing with his finger how he tries to tie something on her finger.

“She’s a size 5 aaaaaand one half.” Diego informs him helpfully.

“Thanks dude!” Max pulls out his phone and tries to text something under the bartop. Forgetting how to spell, he gives up and drops his head on Kyle’s shoulder. He feels sleepy.

————————-

At Liz’s voice, Max picks his head up off Kyle’s shoulder and beams at her. “Babe! I was jus tinking about you an you’re here!”

Liz shakes her head. “I sure am. Did you boys have fun talking about me?”

“She knows!” Diego looks around wide eyed. “How does she always know?”

Kyle hiccups, blinking at Liz. “She’s psychic.”

“‘Member what we all talked about? Shhhhh” Max puts his fingers to his lips and nods conspiratorially at his girlfriend's exes.

“Maria is the psychic. I just can’t imagine you men would have anything else in common to talk about.” Liz is trying to stay firm, but all three of them are a mess and she will definitely never forget the way they look right now. She is a little nervous about what they talked about but knows Max loves her unconditionally and isn’t too concerned. “Nobody is going to puke right? I’ll drop y’all off at home. Come on.”

“Their home, not ours right?” Max asks worriedly. He’s just gotten used to the idea of hanging with her past, he isn’t sure he can handle them in his house yet.

“Yes, babe.” Liz reassures him.

“And I get shotgun.” Max takes off for Liz’s car, bumping into a table on his way out and then slamming into the door.

Shaking her head, Liz rounds up the other two men and follows him. Nobody better puke in her car.