#this was longer than i anticipated

[jonathanbyersphd]

Allegedly they're taking Voltron off of Netflix which like if true is WILD. Like VLD is objectively bad. We were all here, we remember. But like there's not a physical copy. It's not going to be shown at 3am on cable television. In a few months it's going to be lost media. The only way to watch will be to pirate. Which like for all its faults people worked hard to make that story. Sure, the ending was not the best but that's years of hundreds of people's hard work. That's their story.

Worst yet, this is a Netflix original. They're essentially saying that they'll pull their own catalogue with no remorse. Not to be overly paranoid but what's saving anything else that hasn't performed well or is outdated?

[bigbadk9]

i want a pretty boy in my lap.

i want him rutting against my thigh, tears falling down his cheeks as he nears his release.

only for me to slow him down, keeping him from cumming in his pants, right there against my thigh.

only after he was sobbing and begging, too tired to continue, would i allow it. it'd be so, so fucking hot to watch his face shift from needy to hopeful. to have his hips stutter and grind against my thigh. i would hold his hips, steadying him and providing a good rhythm for him to get off.

and when he'd finally get off, his body sagging against mine as his breath hiccups in his chest and he seems to deflate? i would make him keep going. whispering praises in his ears, against his neck, about how good he did. that he just needed to give me one more orgasm and i'd let that be it. he'd cry against my shoulder, tears dampening my shirt. i would just continue to rub his hips, his back, his neck softly. encouraging him once more.

of course i would provide more help this time; my hand sliding into his pants and providing more stimulation to him, using his own release as lubricant. it'd be so easy to slip my fingers into him now; with him so needy and all wet with his cum. the overstimulation would provide a very quick and effective orgasm, this one slamming into him like waves. i would kindly make him ride it out as long as possible.

he would thank me after, for being so kind and providing him with not one, but two releases. after all, he had been so good. how could i leave him with only one?

[rain-harmonia]

I want to talk about one of the little cutscenes in Dragonflight. I want to talk about Alexstrasza and what she said to Wrathion when he was asking for assistance with reclaiming the Obsidian Citadel.

“I would have expected you to care more for the protection of helpless eggs, Wrathion.”

Going to preface this with I don’t think she was in the wrong for choosing to prioritize the eggs. She’s right; she knows Raszageth (Razsageth?? I hate spelling her name) better than Wrathion. I’ll trust her judgement there. And it’s not like she abandoned him completely. She sends the player to help him. (Do I think that was enough? No. But it’s better than nothing I guess)

But pulling THAT line out against Wrathion? That was FOUL.

To start with, the black flight has so little left at this point. Wrathion still believes that he and Ebyssian are all that remains. He is clawing for scraps here, trying to make something out of his broken flight. As he said, the Obsidian Citadel is the black flight’s legacy. Legacies are all that the black flight has at this point — this cutscene is before Sabellian arrives with other black dragons and with eggs. Alexstrasza tried to appeal to a future that Wrathion did not think his flight had. He must have felt that he was being asked to let go of an important piece of his flight in favor of further securing the other flights despite them already appearing to be secured. In his eyes, Alexstrasza was simply brushing him off.

And let’s not forget about the circumstances of Wrathion’s creation. Alexstrasza’s line must have felt like a double insult because where was that concern for helpless eggs when Rheastrasza was forcing Nyxondra to lay eggs that were subsequently being experimented on? Alexstrasza is trying to appeal to him with eggs when it was a member of her very own flight that was frankensteining together dead whelps and unhatched eggs (while we have confirmation that whelps are AWARE and CONSCIOUS of the outside world while still in their eggs) to create the amalgamation that is Wrathion.

Of course he was upset. Of course he decided to attempt to reclaim the Obsidian Citadel on his own. He thought he might be finding his place among other dragonkind only for Alexstrasza to (unintentionally, I should hope) remind him how outcast he is.

[arvensnumberone]

Together forever – Arven x Reader

Together forever – Arven x Galarian!Reader

First post okkk, I genuinely didn’t know what to make the title, and I hate this so much cause I started writing in Y/n’s POV instead of Narrators POV and I can’t write for Y/n’s POV like ever it’s so bad. I’m not happy with this at all I’m probably gonna re-write this like one day. Also I didn’t really know how to write the second part (after the line) so that part was rushed and not as well-written as the first part was. Also reader is gn, if I used she/her or he/him anywhere where I should have used they/them pls lmk,

Warnings(?): Kissing(really light), cringe(extremely), sensitive reader(reader cries like 5 times I think) I don’t think there’s anything else and none of these are really ‘warnings’ so yea!

Words: 1 820(including stuff above the line), 1 690(excluding stuff above the line)

………………………………………………………………………………

             This week was graduation week. All my seniors were overjoyed at the fact they were finally graduating. Several graduation parties were being held right before the last day of school since final exams had just ended. I was of course happy too, I could finally be a senior myself and I was soon going to be a year closer to graduating. But a part of me just really wasn’t happy as well. The thought of all my friends leaving me behind didn’t sit right with me. I was the youngest in my friend group. Nemona, Penny, and Arven. They were all a year above me. The reason we became friends was well, I don’t really actually even remember. That’s not the point here though. The point is that all my close friends would be leaving me, I could deal with it during class since there were a few people in my class who I had taken a liking too and was able to be their partners during projects. But outside of class I relied on them. It made me anxious to even think about being all alone again. I didn’t know what to do. I stared at the clock it was almost time for class. Had I really been awake from 11pm all the way till 6am? I usually fell asleep easily thinking about all sorts of things. It was easy for me to fall asleep; in fact I enjoyed it, being able to close your eyes and not have to worry about anything.

             I dragged my feet into class, the day was spent mainly fooling around, playing bored games, etc. Nothing really interesting. I dozed of majority of the time, or just listened to my classmates talking about what they were going to do during summer break and how we all should meet up. If you ask me the idea wasn’t bad, but I’d rather sleep in.

              I opened my eyes as I heard the bell ring for break. I hurriedly got up from my seat and rushed over to the area me and my friends usually sat at. I waited for a bit. And waited some more. . . .It didn’t seem like they were coming, they were probably on that field trip they were talking about. Apparently they were going today morning I think and are coming back on the last day of school. Must be nice. I got up from the place I was sitting at and walked around while eating my lunch. I settled for sitting in a corner and just watch the younger students run around and play tag until the bell rang.

             The rest of the day was pretty boring just going around from class to class and listening to student’s gossip. Eventually though I had arts. The teacher had requested us to draw something that came from our hearts. Whatever that meant. I stared at the blank sheet of paper I had gotten and thought of what I could even draw. Before I even knew it I started drawing, a boy I think. I couldn’t really tell yet. I was simply just drawing what I felt like I should. All of a sudden I stared back down at the paper and saw a boy, or maybe it was a girl? The hair seemed familiar almost too familiar. My cheeks felt hot as I realized who I started drawing, I crumpled up the drawing and threw it away. Screw my brain. I only had 10 more minutes to draw something. I eventually grabbed another paper and quickly sketched out an Umbreon and Espeon and handed it.

             I walked out of class and walked to my dorm, oh my Arecus was I lonely. I should probably try and make some friends in my grade next year. I fiddled with the keys to my dorm and walked inside closing the door behind me. I took off my shoes and crawled onto my bed. I stared at the wall and my stomach was making funny knots. It didn’t hurt but it sure didn’t feel good either. I thought I was having a stomach ache or something of that sort but it didn’t feel the same. This either happened from the thought of being lonely or whatever I was doing in art class. I turned around I threw my head into my pillow before I felt my phone vibrating. I groaned as I opened it. It was from the gc with me and my friends. They had apparently been messaging in there for like what 10 minutes now? I don’t know how I just realized. I opened the gc and scanned over the messages.

Arven Hey buddy! How ya doing?

-10 minutes ago

Nemona HI YN ARE YOU AWAKE OR DID U SLEEP THROUGH ALL YOUR CLASSES AGAIN ??

-5 minutes ago

Penny Calm down it’s been 5 minutes plus its 4pm, they’re probably heading back to their dorm.

-5 minutes ago

Arven But what if something happened? They usually respond really quickly even if they’re in class

-4 minutes ago

Nemona Exactly

-4 minutes ago

Penny What’s your point you imbeciles

-4 minutes ago

Arven Ouch words hurt penny

-3 minutes ago

Penny And idc

-1 minute ago

               Weren’t they all in the same place? Why were they communicating in a group chat.. I stared at the messages. I didn’t really know what to say and you were too tired to even reply back. But it was obvious I had read it by now so I quickly typed a quick good night to the group chat and set my phone aside, not bothering to see what they had said afterwards.

             I changed out of my uniform and into something else and jumped onto my bed as I closed my eyes. But same thing as last night, I couldn’t sleep. I found myself wanting to cry at the thought of being lonely again. I didn’t want to be alone, or for them to go, I really loved them. I loved how energetic Nemona could be, I admired her for that. I also really loved Penny and how sweet she could be underneath all that ice. I especially loved Arven, I couldn’t really pinpoint why but I knew I did. Just thinking of him made my heart flutter. At some point I started crying into my pillow, it was just too much for me to handle at the time.

………………………………………………………………………………

             The whole week had passed with the same schedule. Today they were finally graduating and you’d be a senior. The morning half of your classes was some-what fun, I wish I could enjoy it as much as my classmates had been. I hated the thought of being alone, but I had to accept it. The bell rang and I got up, your vision was blurry, though there weren’t any tears in it and my chest started hurting. Everything felt un-real. Maybe I was being dramatic. I got up from my seat as the bell rang. I was walking to the table me and my friends usually sat at. My walking came to a halt and I turned around. I can’t really explain what came over me but I really didn’t wanna see them right now. I was sort of starting to regret walking away but I couldn’t help it, I just needed some space at the moment.

             The rest of the day passed by fairly quickly, I was just lying down on my bed while watching tv till all of a sudden my phone started vibrating. I hurriedly reached for it and checked it. It was a message from Arven.

“Hey buddy where you at?”

“At my dorm, why?”

“Aren’t you gonna come orr”

“Oh Yea ok I’ll be down there give me a minute”

“cya” liked by y/n

             You changed into one of your outfits and put on your shoes and ran out of your dorm closing the door behind you. You went outside and started searching for your friends. You found them eventually standing near a fountain, talking.

“Hey”

“Hi”

“Hey Y/n!”

“Hey buddy”

             We all stared at each other awkwardly in silence till Nemona spoke up.

“I’m just gonna get some food be right back”

“I’ll go with you wait” Nemona ran off with Penny trailing behind.

“So…where were you all day?”

“I was just walking around, kinda forgot you all came back from your trip today sorry”

“Oh, I wanted to give you something”

“Hm?”

             Arven grabbed something from his backpack and handed it to me. It was a…a pokeball? A cherish one to be exact. I grabbed the pokeball and examined it carefully.

“Go ahead, open it”

“Oh, there’s something inside?”

“Y/n…it’s a pokeball…why would I give you an empty one…”

“Oh.”

             I threw the pokeball out excited to see what pokemon was inside. It was a… an applin? I looked back at him, his face was a light read color and I looked back at the applin. I examined a bit more till it finally hit me. My face was burning and I was sure he could feel the heat radiating off of me by now.

“You love me?” Why am I so stupid? Of course that’s why he gave me an applin, there’s no other explanation! I’m from Galar, and he just came back from a trip to Galar!

“Yea, I totally get if you don’t feel the same wa-“

             I cut him off by placing a kiss on his cheek. “I love you too! I never would have thought you liked me back..I guess that’s why I ignored you guys when you all came back, I couldn’t stand seeing you all at the time…I especially couldn’t see you, my chest felt tight whenever I even thought of you leaving so I just avoided you all, I’m so-“I was cut off by him placing a kiss on my face and pulling away.

“You talk too much sometimes, you know? I already knew that you idiot! And, I’ll never leave you, so come on let’s go find those two.” He said grabbing my hand to go search for Penny and Nemona together.

[aroacegod]

I need to rant so I’m doing it here (kinda long, She-ra spoilers)

She-ra could do so much with a season 6. There were so many things that needed to be worked out in the characters. Catra still had a lot of leftover trauma she never got to properly deal with, like her abandonment issues and the nightmares and flashes she gets because of Horde Prime’s mind control. She also never got to really apologize to Scorpia for everything that happened. It would have been nice to see them work through everything and become genuine friends. I just feel like her redemption arc was too short. Then there’s Adora’s “I have to fix this” mindset. She constantly felt like she had to sacrifice herself for the good of everyone else, and I feel like it was never properly worked through. Throughout the show, she felt like people always needed She-ra, but not Adora. And now that Etheria has been saved, she doesn’t have to be She-ra anymore. She might feel like she’s useless now that nobody “needs” her anymore. A 6th season could show us her trying to overcome her need to be useful to everyone else and realizing that she is deserving of love too.

Season 6 could also show us the Best Friend Squad bringing magic back to all the other planets, since that was mentioned in the very last episode. We could also get some lesbian fluff between Catra and Adora, which is always nice. It’d be great to see their relationship develop and help each other overcome their struggles. Maybe we could see them become friends with Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio again. Maybe some Glimmer and Bow stuff too. I’d also love to see Glimmer and her dad’s relationship grow. After thinking he was dead for so long, it would’ve be awesome to see them get to know each other and form a bond. I also think it’d be funny to watch him get used to living normally again—sleeping in a bed, not eating bugs—and just learning to be a dad. And then there’s Hordak. He defied Horde Prime and returned to Etheria with Entrapta. I’d like to see how he and Catra adjust to life in a world without a constant war against the princesses. It would take a long time for him to fully be accepted by everyone, especially the Princess Alliance. And he also wouldn’t be able to get over his prejudices against the princesses immediately. Sure, Entrapta was his friend, but he was trying for so long to crush the princesses that he might still have some kind of urge to do so. Maybe Entrapta could help him live among them and even find some hobbies to keep him busy. I also want to see more of Double Trouble and Wrong Hordak. They’re both such funny characters. And I just love DT; they’re just here to cause problems and I live for it. We could even see more of the Star siblings. They were interesting characters, and it would be cool to learn more about them.

Something that I’ve been wondering about was what the First Ones were really doing with the Heart of Etheria. Sure, they were using it as a weapon of mass destruction to destroy their enemies, but who were their enemies really? Horde Prime? Were there other enemies? And were there underlying motives for mining the planet’s magic? Who did they want to destroy? I just feel like there’s so much more to the story that we didn’t see. And according to Madame Razz, She-ra was on Etheria long before the First Ones got there. What was She-ra like before the sword was made to control her? Were there settlers of Etheria before the First Ones? If so, who were they? We also didn’t learn much (or anything) about Adora’s background. Since Adora is a First One, there must be some kind of First Ones colony on whatever planet she was from. What planet did she come from? Did Adora have a family before she was brought to Etheria? Are they still alive? Are they looking for her? And what about Queen Angella? She technically isn’t dead; she’s just trapped between dimensions, which means she’s alive and alone. I’m not saying we should bring her back; I’m just curious as to what she’s up to. Can she do anything, or is she just stuck floating between time and space? Regardless, there are so many things that could be covered in another season that would be so great to see. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re ever getting one 😔

Thank you for coming to my tedtalk

[pb-loves-owls]

thinking abt how to get gil and harvey in the old hexsquad shenanigans without uprooting them or putting them conveniently into a dangerous situation but im afraid they’re just gonna have to be put into a dangerous situation

was trying to find info about st epiderm and saw a crew-story about sword magic

maybe it could be one of the many adventures outside of bonesborough?

they all go up the knee for Odalia’s birthday party and naturally, she and alador are fighting. They’ve been fighting the whole way there and it’s making everyone miserable and awkward. most of them didn’t even wanna come but got dragged up by Darius who didnt wanna be alone with them and the other populars (he got a taste of non-toxic friendships and now he’s having a tough time).

Odalia’s is being a jerk so she practically forces everyone who weren’t specifically her friends to sleep in the same room. which… tbh would be kinda fair if it’s something she needed to book in advance. buut she didn’t and it’s her family’s vacation home with a bajillion rooms. enough for everyone and their guardians to have their own room.

so Lily, Eda, and Raine are basically roomies. which is still fine for them since the room itself is huge anyway, and the bed is so big it could fit five.

Eda wants to go have an adventure. since Raine used to live up there, they offer to give the squad a rundown of all the local lore. They didn’t really think anyone would wanna act on it since the magic up on the knee is so much more potent and the beasts are more dangerous. so they tell them about the secret stacks of St. Ep’s library and how it’s said that in there holds secrets of magic that are so ancient and so dangerous that not even the bravest of wild witches dare try.

so obviously, Eda wants to learn it.

Lilith tries to talk her out of it but is p much ignored after Raine says they have a man in the inside who would sneak his bf in all the time.

Man of course is Gilbert, who coincidentally is accompanied with Harvey who claims they’re just friends who sometimes hold hands and cuddle.

This’ll be before Eda and Raine start dating too.

Raine is all “really dude”

and Eda replies with “hey, we do that all the time and we’re best friends too!”

Darius does a check in with Raine to check if they’re good. Eda has no idea why they’re taking so long to follow, so she checks back, and sees them laughing with each other. basically she thinks she’s about to lose her best friend.

some time after finding the secret stacks entrance and entering it, the squad accidentally unleash an eldritch horror onto the school and have to slay it before anybody catches them.

cue barging into Gil’s room for that classic “walking in on an almost kiss” scene

Eda goes “woah what’re you doing?” “dude obviously they were about to ki—”

and then Harvey yells “KICKBOX”. pause for effect. then he gets kicked by Gilbert, who is done with the games, and asks what they’re doing in his room. Cue the low guttural growl of the monster.

After running a lot, the squad makes it outside, but Raine gets cornered by the monster. This triggers the owl beast, which turns out is now bigger than the monster. by a lot.

It eats the monster.

but now Raine is confronted with the Owl Beast. Lilith is trying to stop everyone from hurting Eda, but all anyone sees is the beast. Lilith is crying and apologizing to Eda.

but Raine isn’t all that scared. They know Eda and they know she wouldn’t hurt them if she knew what was going on. She was just afraid. using bard magic, they place a calming effect on her and talk her back down. Eda is exhausted to say the least.

In the end, Harvey apologizes to Gil and says that he was just afraid of them not being friends anymore if they start dating. Gil disuades those fears by saying that the reason he likes him so much is because they’re such good friends. and that as long as they communicate, they’ll always be friends first. they agree to go slow. Gilbert tells Raine that they’re welcome anytime but to maybe keep it chill next time.

while everyone is walking back, Eda stops Raine to talk to them. she thanks them for not attacking her or letting people attack her, to which they reply that she should thank Lily for the latter. as for the former, they could never be scared of her. because they’ve seen what a huge dork she is.

Eda still looks down in the dumps though, prompting Raine to ask what’s up. like. Is it the part where she almost attacked them because they can hold her off on their own too. then Eda tells them that she saw how close they and Darius have been getting. and they and Lilith, and Alador, and that she’s just afraid that they’re seeing she’s not all that cool of a person to hang out with.

Raine throws a snowball at her and tells her to stop talking about their best friend like that. They didn’t have many friends at St. Eps. Even Gilbert was a lot more social and didn’t actually hang out with them all that much. Not that they minded. but Eda was the first person ever that they felt really connected with. “you’re special to me, okay? nobody else comes close.”

they give her a kiss on the cheek and tell her to hurry up because everyone else is probably back at Odalia’s family manor already.

When they turn around to catch up to everyone, they don’t see Eda blushing all “oh no I have a crush”.

[wulflynn]

Behold, the “Apostate Potate”… 🥔

Almost 12 years ago I brought home the tiniest little kitten and I just had to name her after a certain sarcastic apostate who adores cats.

I picked her out of a stray litter my friend’s neighbor found under their house. I sent a picture of her to my dad, saying “This is Anders and she’s coming home with me tomorrow.” (He was less than thrilled but thankfully, didn’t tell me no. Just that it was my responsibility to make sure our dogs didn’t eat her).. I put a small blanket from my car in the box with the kittens and stopped at the pet store on my way home. I set up her cat tree, litter box, dining area, and made a cozy little spot in a nook of my closet for her bed. Once I was satisfied with her setup, I went to sleep, eagerly awaiting the morning.

I brought her home the next day—along with the blanket that both introduced her to my scent and retained the scent of her brothers and sisters overnight—and showed her her new room. She slept in her bed with that little blanket for the first week until she started sleeping on my pillow. I kept her upstairs for the first few weeks and slowly introduced her to our two dogs. Once they all got along well enough and she got a little bigger, she had full-range of the house. She was a mischievous little thing, always getting into stuff and clinging to my pants as I walked around my room. We’d taken in stray cats before when I was little but my mom always found them new homes without telling me beforehand, usually when I was at school. I promised Anders that she and I are in it for the long haul, nobody would take her away. She was mine and the only cat I’ve chosen and raised.

She’s been with me from my awkward teenage years to nearly the end of my (still awkward) twenties and everything that’s happened in that time—loss of family, other pets, graduating, getting engaged, moving four times, everything. I always dote more loudly over my dogs, but I look at her and get overwhelmed with love, she deserves some recognition too💛. She’s my girl. My apostate potate. She’s a friggin’ weirdo and I wouldn’t have her any other way!

[couldhavechoosensthbetter]

I've never bothered to think about Andrew Tate before in my life until his arrest, making me curious about so many supporting him even with allegation of "Human trafficking" so I watched few of his videos and stumbled on one where he said,

"Women claim to hate me but when asked why? Or how it's misogynist, they are speechless" (not in exact words but you got the point)

It's interesting because even I'll agree, I couldn't string my words together on spot but the thing is his comments like "men can cheat with multiple partners but a women can't or it's immoral" or " if i have responsibility over her, then i must have a degree of authority" or even better " you can't be responsible for something that doesn't listen to you. You can't be responsible for a dog that doesn't obey you, or a child if it doesn't obey you, or a women that doesn't obey you"

Being a women, it's mad hilarious rather than enraging.

A living proof that a guy can also fall under "Toxic feminist" label as easily based on his general way he addresses women, though it makes me feel a sort of melancholic fondness for him on the other side,

He sounds lonely and disappointed with women, and feels like the obligation of a relationship with a women is purely a responsibility which he's humouring only for his "needs" in return of taking responsibility of her "needs"

So he wants authority over them, because how else would you feel a child arguing with you all the time when it's your responsibility to take care of them and you clearly don't have emotional attachment good enough.

You'd want them to obey if they want your care (physical, materialistic etc), Like I'm not saying everyone would feel that way but you can't deny, some would and will agree and it's alright. Just imagine having to take care of your nephew who always mess your room when they visit every month.

He's a guy who have no idea what in the world it is to love, all his relationship advice and stuff is for "Friends with benefit" or very casual dating, and may i add 'only for his needs and his partners benefit' because he's a hot shot, he's got money and influence and safety so what else could a girl want!?!

His fault is to categorise all women in this category, to spread his experience as if everyone who want to treat women as responsible adult in the world is a fool, people who are deprived of good relationship or have been heartbroken and haven't moved on are most prone and he's feeding off that, "see, this is what happens. You are like this because you're to blame to think she'd want anything from you except money or your face and if you provide it then it's your reward to have authority over her"

Like, a pretty good time a failed relationship comes from personal flaw that's not endearing after the high of relationship fades for either of the partner which is mostly rectifiable but it's okay, we are young and make mistakes and sometimes you truly don't deserve it because your partner was the one who used you as a rebound or played with your feelings and that's on them and their consciousness,

Let's just forget about Andrew Tate, let's talk about you and how you are dealing with it.

Are you really gonna give up on goodness just because of one of many bad experience in your life, if that's the case then you'd better not say or comment "not all men" when someone is sharing their experience because then you are being a hypocrite.

I'm not saying all women are angels or not make mistakes or always accept their mistakes, or only want book fairytale from relationship but not all women just like not every man is an entitled asshole or assaults with an emotional built-in of 3 months old.

If you're doing relationship for money and looks and in return treating or getting treated as easily replaceable or not worth understanding and communicating and are fine with it then understandable and you do you if it works for you,

But if you come around claiming that this is how world works and there's nothing like deep respectful relationship then kindly pull your ass out of your rectum and consider a cozy therapy with all the money you don't know where to spend or talk to your friends and open yourself to understanding,

We are humans with instinct and critical thinking, use them wisely depending on situation and don't flinch away from taking responsibility.

I'll conclude with saying that in my opinion, the reason why so many couldn't answer why he's wrong in saying that is because, we know this is true to some extent but generalizing it like only your experience matters is where the problem starts, you are free to not believe in love but you don't have to call it fake.

Hence, ladies and gentlemen,

"Not all men"

"Not all women"

PS: if you disagree with me it's alright, you may let me know and we can have a healthy conversation that may give me more insight and correct my ignorance (that's why I'm sharing my thoughts) but don't come with b.s whining, you may scroll past.

[caramelapplesauce]

Astrologically Compatible

peter x sybill

warning: mention of dead parent!

they held hands as they made the journey to the new crystal shop. peter had never felt so safe with another person since his mum died. sybill felt comfortable and reliable and everything he ever needed in life.

they met at an asexual meet up a few months back. he was surprised to find someone that not only felt the same as him, but clicked so well. they sat next to each other and instantly connected. they talked about astrology and different types of crystals, and compared their tarot card decks. they also found out that they were astrologically compatible. a leo man and a libra woman! what are the chances?! after the meeting, they had went for tea and continued talking into the night. they both really loved park walks at night so that’s where they went after tea. they were a romance written in the stars.

it has been six months since then and they have been on many dates. they have been to various crystal shops, psychic readings, and antique shops that took all of their money. and now they were on their way to a crystal shop that was on the outskirts of town, basking in each others company. as they entered the shop, they turned to each other and knew, without even having to say anything, that this was their new favorite shop. it had rows and rows of crystals and all of them had labels. there were shelves of books that explained the different crystals and what they did. there were various necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and all sorts of jewelry, laced with all kinds of crystals. sybill and peter looked at each other, gave a curt nod, and separated. peter went straight for the pink crystals labeled rose quartz and sybill, he noticed, went straight for the onyx. he focused back on the rose quartz in front of him and sifted through the multitudes of jewelry that was there, trying to find the perfect present for sybill’s birthday. after about ten minutes of looking, peter was about to give up. there was nothing that was special enough to give to his love. he started to walk away from the table when something caught his eye. he turned to it and instantly realized this is what he was looking for. he quickly picked it up, walked to the cashier, and bought it before sybill found him and saw it.

a few weeks later, sybill and peter were siting across from each other at a little diner for her birthday. peter twiddled his thumbs as a nervous habit and sybill seemed to take notice.

“peter, dear, what’s wrong? you seem so nervous and you can’t be nervous on my birthday, it is simply not allowed” she smiled that soft smile and booped him on the nose before picking up his hands and holding them in her own. he instantly relaxed. he let out a sigh and said

“i… i have a gift for you a-and something to say b-but i… i’m just… you are…” he breathed out and tried to calm his racing heart.

“it’s okay, love, take your time.” she traced circles around the back of his hand, waiting patiently. this was the moment peter realized he just had to tell her. he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“okay, well first, i wanted to say happy birthday, my dear, and that you are the most amazing person that has ever come into my life.” he began. she was already smiling and peter gave her a slight smile back. “you have been everything i have ever dreamt of and more and so here is a rose quartz crown. it is sort of like a flower crown but it is made of a gold chain and laced through rose quartz be-because,” he started stuttering because when he chanced a glance at her, she was all teary, “oh no don’t cry.” he went to wipe a tear from her eye.

“oh, sorry, i’m just being silly. it’s just… it honestly is the best present ever. and i-i-i,” she started really crying at this and peter was starting to panic. this was not what he expected. he quickly pulled out the gift and handed it to her so that maybe she would stop crying. he was wrong. she started crying even more and was staring at it with tears streaming down her face.

“oh, oh my it is beautiful! goodness!” she was struggling to breath as she spoke and she looked right at peter and stated

“i love you so much, you complete me in ways i never thought i needed and you are the most beautiful thing to ever happen to me” peter gaped at her. that was his line, wasn’t it? she took in his expression and her eyes widened a little.

“oh! oh my sorry i just- i don’t- i don’t know why i said that. it just… it’s true but - and you don’t have to say it back but i j-i just needed you to hear it an-“ she was quickly cut off by peter standing up, walking around the table, and kissing her so deeply that she almost fell off her chair. he pulled back, and whispered

“i love you so so much. you are the one thing that i know is right in the world”

[goaterror]

Do you give a fuck about those being oppressed here? If so, what actions are you taking aside from placing blame? Please tell me what you’re doing, it’d genuinely make my day better.

And while I’m here, those who are likely experiencing hardships are not the ones who voted him. And honestly, even if someone did, that doesn’t rob them of their humanity and rights to basic needs, including food and livable shelter.

And I know all this bc I’m living in this hell hole state. I live here, I vote here, I do my activism here in the flesh and not just online. I lived thru Harvey, which went straight through my hometown. I picked up the wreckage and sheltered people. I lived thru a city’s water crisis; not just being un-drinkable but also not safe to touch. I lived thru the February freeze while still running a support group. I’ve marched and protested and talked to our reps in-person at the capitol. And I say all these bc I’ve seen it first hand. That the most negatively affected is the marginalized and oppressed, the same people impacted by voter suppression. And yeah they’re not the only ones affected. That didnt stop me from wanting to be a good neighbor bc human beings are inherently worthy of compassion.

I’m so sick of this. Every time something awful happens down here, people are so quick to say we deserved it. Is that helping? Is that activism? Is that social justice?

Texas, help me understand something.

Why the fuck did y’all reelect this psychopath by 11 points? Seriously. Are y’all just the dumbest motherfuckers in the history of the world?

I mean, voter suppression and everything matters, sure. It doesn’t make this bastard win by 11 points. That’s a choice by Texans. A clear choice.

So. Again. I have to ask: what the fuck, Texas?

[dizzysinner]

is it a thing for your brain to make up arbitrary rules that you Have to follow. a couple weeks ago i was packing for a weekend camping trip and i had everything ready to go, but at the last minute i switched which blanket i had packed. when my mom asked why i wasn't bringing the one i originally packed, the only answer i could come up with was "i don't know." because i didn't. my brain said "no i have to bring the purple one instead" so i packed the purple one instead. i don't know why. why does my brain do that. do other people do that

[kamapon]

Mersault break, behind the scenes 🤭

[eemamminy-art]

My half of an art trade I did with @fuerrziah !! :3 The softest guys ever 😊

[eighttalestale]

A totally not belated birthday gift for my amazing friend @achirding ❤️⚔️🖤

[stellewriites]

PART ONE

summary: by chance you and your emotionally unavailable husband meet a friendly couple that invite you stay at their farmhouse in scotland. however the time spent there with johnny & kyle has you questioning if there's a dark side to them you didn't see before.

a speak no evil au - masterlist

notes: manipulative johnny & kyle, piv, noncon, somno, never explicitly acknowledged abusive relationship between reader and her husband (financial, physical, emotional, coercive control), drinking, murder, it's dead dove horror people!! heed the warnings

you picked at the buttery croissant on the plate in front of you, trying your best to block out the sound of your husband’s voice as it grew more frustrated by the minute. you pitied the poor soul he was berating on the other end of the line, but you couldn’t bring yourself to feel bad enough to try and stop him, to turn his ire against you instead.

he wouldn’t listen to you anyway, hadn’t the first few times you’d asked when you’d first arrived on your honeymoon.

you scoffed quietly and shoved a bite into your mouth, chewing obstinately. two years late, but sure. your honeymoon.

elliot sighed heavily, and threw his phone down onto the table, rattling your coffee and gaining the attention of nearby hotel staff. “i work with fucking idiots, christ. how hard is it to follow instructions?”

“it’s why they keep you around, smartest one on your team,” you said appeasingly, the same rote answer you always gave him when he got in his moods.

“smartest one at the whole fucking firm more like,” he scoffed. you cringed at the scornful looks sent your way from the other couples on the retreat. “useless. the lot of them.”

the french riviera had been a dream destination for you for years, one elliot had known about from early in your dating days. the holiday he’d booked was all inclusive; tailored to honeymooners specifically with romantic activities on and off site and transport easily accessible in order to explore the area.

you felt as though you should’ve been having the time of your life as you sat eating breakfast looking over the beautiful beach view, but you’d never felt emptier. the sight of happy couples around you day after day had only highlighted your husband’s distance.

elliot had promised this trip would change things for you both, for your relationship, but the last six days had proven the opposite. if he wasn’t busy and distracted on his phone, elliot was complaining about the quality of the food, the amenities, even the bloody people.

it was too much and just the morning before you’d been tempted to ask him to cut the fortnight away short when he’d gotten an urgent email and then a frantic call from his boss.

you’d sighed in relief when he’d left you to wander the local area by yourself for the day; happy to escape his negativity for an hour even as you felt guilty for thinking so. you knew he worked hard, you knew his job was important, and his work meant you could afford your luxury apartment in London and be able to take trips like this one without stressing over the cost.

you’d taken the time to go to the market you’d read about on the plane, the place des lices, and tried every free sample of cheese that had been waved your way once you’d gotten there. but you hadn’t been the only one from your hotel to take advantage of the famous food stalls as you recognised the deep scottish brogue of one half of the couple that were staying in the room next to yours; it rose even above the busy hum of french chatter easily.

you’d turned your head and smiled when you caught his pretty husband’s eyes before turning back to the stall merchant and buying a chunk of fresh camembert for elliot to try. you’d been eyeing up the fruit stall further down and were debating the brie too if you spotted some good cranberry jam.

“you’re from the hotel, right?” you suddenly heard from your left. you turned to find the couple a lot closer than before, apparently taking your polite smile as invitation to join you. “i’ve seen you at the pool before. I’m kyle, this is my husband, johnny.”

“nice t’meet ye.”

you’d introduced yourself and shook their hands once your cheese was carefully packed into your tote bag.

“where’s yer chatty husband?” johnny asked, eyes scanning the crowd.

you flushed, a creeping sense of embarrassment rising as you thought of elliot back at the hotel shooing you off before you’d even sat for breakfast.

“oh he had some emergency at work he had to deal with,” you excused. “didn’t need me hanging around distracting him, so i went for a walk.”

“you’re on your own?” kyle asked with a concerned frown.

“yeah, but i don’t mind. i travelled alone a lot before we were together. i’m used to my own company,” you said with a soft laugh.

the pair swapped a silent look before focusing back on you. “well, we’d be happy to have ye if you’re feeling lonely, bonnie,” johnny offered. “we were thinkin’ of goin’ wine tasting after this now that we’ve got our snacks, if you’d like to join.”

you chuckled as johnny raised their bag and wiggled his eyebrows.

“i wouldn’t want to intrude.” you shook your head.

“it beats heading back to the hotel,” kyle cajoled. “unless you had other plans?”

you pursed your lips before letting a small, shy smile grow. “ok. wine tasting sounds fun.”

you had spent the afternoon laughing and eating the cheese, bread and fruits you’d bought at the market over glasses of wine with johnny and kyle, a wide smile never leaving your lips even as the three of you stumbled back up the steps to the hotel.

your phone had stayed silent the entire day and it wasn’t until you were waving goodbye to your new friends and opening the door to your hotel room that you wondered if elliot would be annoyed at you for staying out so long without contacting him.

you smiled a little shakily as you caught him leaving the bathroom with a towel slung around his hips. “good day?”

“fixed their mess if that’s what you mean,” elliot huffed, but he turned to you with a satisfied smile and nodded. he dipped his head down and kissed you sweetly. “what about you? good day?”

“mhm,” you hummed, your smile settling more firmly on your face at his easy mood. “i went wine tasting.”

“oh?” elliot grinned, looking at you a little closer and taking in the signs of your slight inebriation, the way you swayed slightly on your feet and the almost sleepy glaze over your eyes.

“met a few new friends,” you said. “johnny and kyle.”

elliot stiffened for a moment before smiling again, less genuine and with a sharper edge this time. “oh? that’s nice. i’ll be free to spend the day doing whatever you’d like tomorrow, darling. no need for friends on our honeymoon.”

“you will?” you asked as you started to undress, surprised he wasn’t asking for an extra day to check everything with work had settled. you didn’t look the gift horse in the mouth however. “there’s a great market i saw today we could go to. i wouldn’t mind going twice, the cheese is amazing—“

“sure, sure. fine. let’s just sleep now, yeah? i’m exhausted after today,” elliot interrupted as he dried himself off before climbing into bed.

“of course, yeah. we can figure it out over breakfast.”

which brought you back to now, with your croissant and your husband and your beach view and the ever growing pit of disappointment.

you skimmed your eyes over the other couples sat on the veranda with you and felt jealousy bubble and spit in your stomach. it was the small things you longed for, the easy affection you craved; legs hooked together under the table, feeding each other, shy smiles shared behind mugs, little jokes whispered on the breeze.

you felt tears prickle at your eyes unexpectedly and wiped at them hastily before elliot could notice.

“bonnie?” your head whipped up at the familiar voice and you smiled automatically at johnny and kyle as they made their way over. johnny was in a pair of shorts, and you saw a knee brace peek out from the hem.

“mind if we join you?” kyle asked, already pulling out a chair at your eager nod, ignoring the deep frown on elliot’s face.

“and you are?” elliot asked rudely, looking between the two men.

“this is johnny and kyle, the couple i told you about last night.” you laid a gentle hand on elliot’s forearm.

“oh, the wine tasters. right.”

“heard you were busy saving yer boss’ arse yesterday,” johnny said with a pinched smile. “yer bonnie wife didnae mention what ye did though?”

“i work for a powerful man looking after his money,” elliot explained vaguely, with an air of condescension.

you noticed kyle wave over a waitress and quietly order for both him and johnny, his palm settled firmly on johnny’s thigh beneath the table.

“oh aye? tha’s a lotta responsibility then. no wonder yer always looking so stressed on yer phone,” johnny laughed.

“oi, be nice, john,” kyle scolded, but the smile teasing the corner of his lips took away any bite the reprimand held.

“sorry, uh, emmet, was it?”

“elliot,” you corrected quickly.

johnny snapped his fingers and nodded. “right, right. sorry, my memory’s not what it used to be.” he waved at a rough scar at the side of his head.

“so how long have you two been together?” kyle asked as their drinks arrived. you saw elliot sniff at the vast amount of sugar kyle poured into his tea.

“five years,” you answered at the same time elliot answered, four years. you turned to him with a frown. “we’ve been married for two. we met before your promotion, remember?”

“are you sure, darling?” elliot asked.

“yes, elliot. i’m sure.”

kyle and johnny watched silently, eyebrows raised until you turned back to your croissant with a tense jaw.

“time flies ‘n all that,” johnny said, hoping to ease your tension.

“right.” you nodded. “what about you guys? been together long?”

“been stuck with him for a decade now,” kyle huffed, patting his hand on johnny’s leg.

“been blessed by me, more like, cheeky sod,” johnny muttered.

you laughed as kyle leant in to kiss his cheek obnoxiously. “met in the forces, just clicked.”

“been together ever since i caught him starin’ in the showers,” johnny boasted with a grin.

elliot shifted uncomfortably in his chair and johnny’s grin dropped minisculely and his eyes hardened.

“what’re yer plans today then, bonnie?”

“oh, uhm, we’re not quite sure yet,” you said looking to elliot. “maybe the market since elliot missed it yesterday?”

“you should join us on our cruise along the coast,” kyle said. “just us and the captain, and a fair bit of booze; views are meant to be unmissable.”

“sounds better than a market,” elliot chuffed before shrugging. “sure, why not?”

“really?” you were more than surprised elliot was willingly agreeing to spend more time with kyle and johnny given how on edge he’d been just sat with them the last ten minutes.

“what d’ye say, bon?” johnny leant over the small table with a smile, taking up enough space for you to feel surprisingly cornered.

“pretty hard to say no to ‘unmissable’,” you said and forced a laugh.

“great,” kyle said and johnny slumped back into his seat, throwing an arm around the back of kyle chair. “we’ve got an hour before we’re meant to be there so eat up, love.”

elliot bristled at their familiarity with you and wrapped his own arm around the back of your chair, his hand curling around your shoulder and squeezing just a tad too tight. “she’s already eaten.”

“what, that little pastry?” johnny laughed. “you’ll need yer energy for what we’ve got planned, hen.” johnny winked.

you felt yourself flush involuntarily, your heart thumped and your eyes widened at the accidental insinuation and you knew elliot had heard it the same way going by the agitated tap of his leg beneath the table.

“i’ll probably just have another coffee,” you said placating, and smiled thinly when elliot kissed your temple. “i can grab something for on the boat or afterwards maybe.”

“that’s my girl,” elliot spoke into your hair.

---

while kyle and johnny finished up their breakfast, you nipped back into your room to change into your swimwear underneath your dress and met them along with elliot at the steps leading down to the beach.

once you’d left the dock and were deep enough in the water that it became a mesmerising dark blue, it didn’t take much convincing to have you jump in the water with johnny as the boat idled in place. elliot had waved you off with a dismissive glance at his phone when you asked if he’d join and kyle had promised to have the towels ready when you’d both ran out of energy.

“not joining them?” elliot asked, sparing a quick glance at kyle as he sat down next to your husband.

“figured i’d keep you company ‘til johnny climbs back on board. we’re temporary neighbours after all, yeah?” kyle said. he looked over the side of the boat and shook his head at his husband splashing you despite your giggly squeals of outrage. “married for two years?” he asked out of the blue and waited for elliot to hum his agreement. “what you doing on a honeymoon trip then, if you don’t mind me asking?”

elliot sighed frustratedly as he locked his phone and put it down beside him, knowing he was going to get nothing done with kyle yammering by his side. “we’re busy people, only just found the time together to go.”

kyle raised his eyebrows in shock. “busy indeed.” he looked to elliot’s phone. “got any photos of the wedding?”

elliot nodded once, and not enthusiastically enough for kyle’s liking, as he pulled up the photo folder you’d made on his phone titled ‘happily ever after 🩷’ before handing it to kyle to flip through.

the younger man whistled lowly, eyes glued to the screen as he pinched and moved the photos to zoom in. elliot noticed how he paused on the photos of you, but flicked through the others quickly, not bothering to stop quick enough to take in your bridesmaids’ dresses or the expensive tiered cake or elliot’s flash suit.

he snatched his phone back when kyle licked his lips at a photo of you dancing with your friends.

“lovely gown,” kyle said with a smirk as he watched elliot seethe. “you really got lucky, eh? punching up like that.”

elliot’s eyes squinted in a glare. “excuse me?”

“come on, mate. you can be honest, it’s why you worry about the job, right? you want to keep that going for you so she doesn’t leave you in the dust,” kyle continued to goad him.

“it’s not me that needs to worry about being left behind,” elliot spat. he rubbed his hand over his mouth and jaw to hide his burgeoning smug look, but kyle saw it in his eyes, the self-satisfaction. “i’ve got options. plenty at that.”

kyle stared at him with a blank face. “oh yeah?”

elliot laughed meanly and dropped his hand. “oh yeah.” he tapped his phone against his palm for a moment, seemingly debating something before freezing as he heard you and johnny climb the short ladder back up to the deck, laughing all the while.

“done in already?” kyle asked, his mood already lighter.

“johnny’s knee is aching, thought he could rest it and we’d get a quick drink,” you answered with a wide smile, reaching for one of the beers stored in the boats built-in cooler and handing one to johnny.

“bonnie was jus’ telling me how she used to live in a much smaller area when she was younger,” johnny said as you both sat down opposite to your partners. “but you live in london now?”

“what is it with you two? always asking bloody questions,” elliot complained, hiding his unease behind a laugh.

“just making conversation, mate,” kyle said tersely.

you felt the air grow awkward and jumped in before your husband could make it worse.

“we moved to london for elliot’s work,” you said.

“and you like it?” kyle’s inquisitive, dark eyes had you willing to be more truthful than you would usually be, especially with near strangers.

“i have to admit… i’d always thought we’d be somewhere further from the city; its what i’d always wanted and elliot said he’d liked the idea of somewhere quieter. we met in my home town after all.” you caught elliot’s scornful eye and ducked your head. “but it just didn’t go that way in the end. and london is lovely, the apartment is— lovely.”

“you ever been to scotland?” johnny asked. “the countryside is like nothin’ you’ve ever seen up there.”

kyle nodded. “we’ve lived on the edge of falkland for a few years now; feels like the middle of nowhere sometimes. doesn’t get much better, i haven’t missed the city for years.”

“one of the best decisions we ever made,” johnny agreed, leaning over to kiss gaz softly.

you sighed wistfully.

“don’t think the hills would agree with my dear wife, but maybe we’ll take a trip up there some time,” elliot said unconvincingly. you swallowed thickly at his thinly veiled dig.

“when you’re not so busy, yeah?” kyle said staring your husband down.

elliot’s lips thinned. “yeah.”

“so how’re you finding france so far?” johnny asked. “enjoying yer stay?”

elliot sniffed. “could be better. from how this one went on about the place i was expecting a hell of a lot more,” he said snidely, gesturing to you flippantly. “i’d have picked bali personally.”

your shoulders hunched even as you felt indignation and anger burn the back of your throat. it wasn’t your fault elliot wasn’t taking advantage of the holiday, the lush area and the activities that promised to be unforgettable if given the chance. you knew you’d remember going in the sea with johnny for years to come, but you doubted you’d remember the boring dinners you’d been having with elliot in a month’s time, or at least not so fondly.

“think i’d have put the trip off for longer if i knew what this place was going to be like,” elliot laughed. “in fact—“

“why don’t you shut the fuck up fer once and let yer pretty wife speak, eh?” johnny cut him off with a sarcastic smile.

elliot was shocked into silence and you found yourself stuttering as kyle and johnny focused on you.

“what do you do when you’re not on a late honeymoon, love?” kyle asked.

“uhm, i don’t actually work currently,” you admitted sheepishly, your eyes darted to your husband as he grew redder in the face. “elliot makes enough to cover us financially and finding something in london was harder than expected after i had to suddenly quit my previous job when we moved.”

kyle and johnny cooed sympathetically.

“i’ve picked up painting recently though, which has been different. not necessarily any good at it, but i like it,” you said.

“an artist? yer after my heart, hen. i sketch a little myself,” johnny said. “now ye’ll have to come visit us just so you can paint the views.”

kyle was quick to pull out his phone to share some photos. he stopped on one of johnny on the top of a steep, grassy hill; his arms thrown up the air, backpack on the ground next to him and a wide grin stretched across his face, his mohawk a little longer than it was now and a mess in the wind.

“wow, it’s gorgeous there,” you gushed, trying not to focus on johnny’s strong stance highlighted by the rising sun behind him.

“that’s the view just behind our house,” kyle grinned. “forty minute hike to get there, at most.”

you gawped. “no way.”

johnny nodded.

“think you’re maybe overestimating her painting skills there, boys,” elliot snickered as he looked at the photo. “if you saw what she’s done so far you’d realise it’s definitely just a new hobby.”

“show us,” kyle suggested kindly, not bothering to look at elliot.

you hesitated before reaching for your bag and pulling out your phone. you handed it over with a shy smile.

“oi, these are good, bonnie,” johnny said immediately, stood looking over kyle’s shoulder. his brow was pulled into a frown as he concentrated.

“i’d buy ‘em,” kyle added, looking up at you to smile.

“ha! right, yeah,” you laughed, thinking he was teasing. you put down your beer and took your phone back, dropping it into your bag. you leant in to kiss elliot’s cheek and stood. “who’s going to join me in the water? elliot?”

“i don’t think so, darling. maybe another time,” he said.

“i will.” kyle stood. “did johnny show you how to dive off the front?”

your eyes widened in excitement as you shook your head and followed him, waving at the captain sat at the helm of the small boat as you passed.

johnny watched the pair of you go before turning to glare at elliot silently, not breaking eye contact even as your husband frowned and shifted uneasily, eventually looking down at his phone to avoid johnny’s unwavering, cold gaze.

---

“i don’t like them,” elliot said once you were back in your hotel that evening.

“who? johnny and kyle?”

“who else?” elliot scoffed. “they’re too familiar with you, they— they fawn over you. flirt relentlessly, in front of me—“

“oh come on,” you laughed, unable to stop yourself even as elliot grew angrier at your casual dismissal. “they’re married, don’t be bloody daft.”

“don’t call me stupid.” elliot warned.

“i’m not, i just—“

“whether they’re actually interested in you or not isn’t the point,” elliot seethed. “they’re doing it to wind me up. to get away with humiliating me and you encourage them.”

“i— what? we were just having fun,” you said.

“oh i know, i saw how you clung to them in the water when you thought i wasn’t looking. fucking slut.”

you gaped at elliot, taken aback by his harsh words and sharp tone. you took in a deep breath and tried to level your own voice.

“they’re just friendly.” you bit your cheek. “if anything, you’re just jealous i’m getting more attention than you for once.”

“what was that?” elliot whipped around to face you and you felt your blood run cold even before he took a step towards you. he gripped you roughly by the back of your neck and tugged you forward so his lips rested at your temple and you followed limply, keeping your hands by your sides. “you better not play up tomorrow, darling. whatever they offer, we’re busy. this our honeymoon, not a fucking jolly for you to try and meet other men.”

you seethed in his hold, furious at his accusations and the irony of his ill-placed jealousy. but all the same you nodded gently. “ok, elliot.”

“good.” he kissed your round cheek with a loud, sarcastic smack before turning towards the bathroom. he shed his clothes as he walked, leaving them in a trail you knew he expected you to pick up and closed the door behind him, leaving you stood motionless in the centre of the hotel room.

---

you dodged johnny’s bright grin and kyle’s sweet invites to hang out over the last week of your holiday with a pained grimace.

after the first few mornings of suddenly stilted conversation over breakfast, they stopped joining you and elliot and you were happy they were able to continue enjoying their honeymoon even if you weren’t.

elliot didn’t say in so many words, but he didn’t trust you not to gallivant off if left alone like before, so you were stuck waiting in the admittedly lavish hotel room on the days elliot got pulled back into work over the phone and on his laptop. too important to leave until later, he’d said. but he’d promised each time to take you out for a dinner that had continued to be forgotten about.

with only a few days left you were stuck waiting by the road, the little moped you’d rented for the day parked and so far unused while elliot nipped back up to the hotel to grab his sunglasses. it’d been twenty minutes already and part of you wondered if he’d gotten lost. you wished he’d left the keys with you instead of pocketing them so you could keep yourself entertained with a quick ride around the block, get used to the feel of the bike before joining onto the main road.

a squeaky horn, two beeps in quick succession, had you flinching from your moody thoughts and looking up as kyle and johnny pulled to a stop in front of you.

“long time no see, love,” kyle said. he nodded down at the bike with a grin. “where you off to?”

“and can we join?” johnny asked with a waggle of his eyebrows.

you snorted. “nowhere. not until elliot comes back at least.” you shrugged. “he’s got the keys,” you explained.

“how about we take you for a quick ride then,” johnny offered and kyle immediately started getting off from behind him.

“no, no i couldn’t. thank you. elliot will be back any second, im sure,” you said quickly, worried elliot would grow mad if he saw you sat behind johnny on the bike.

“ok, love,” kyle placated. “how about we swap numbers then, in case we don’t get to see you before your trip is up? i want to see more of your paintings.”

“we’re off home in about two days or so, figured yours would be about the same,” johnny said.

“what about email?” you suggested instead. your couples therapist had suggested regularly reading each others texts to try and gain back trust between the pair of you. the irony that it was now you trying to hide a conversation in your phone wasn’t lost on you, but you knew elliot wouldn’t want you talking to them after this trip. “i can get pretty chatty in a text, so email might be better,” you lied flimsily.

“sure,” johnny nodded along, clearly not believing you. “whatever you’d like.”

“you can have john’s email,” kyle said with a smirk, the expression growing when the scot sighed and swatted at kyle’s thigh behind him.

you watched them with confused amusement until johnny read out his email.

soapysuds92@yahoo.com

“wow. that’s very myspace of you,” you laughed even as johnny rolled his eyes.

“soap’s an old nickname, you’ll probably hear me call him gaz sometimes too. old habits,” johnny explained.

“from the military?” you confirmed and they nodded.

“i say it when i want him to listen. gets him standing to attention when i call him soap,” kyle said teased.

“anything you do gets me standing to attention, handsome,” johnny said, sultry and playful.

“oh piss off,” kyle laughed as he pushed johnny’s face away, pretending to groan in disgust when johnny caught his wrist and messily kissed his palm. you felt your stomach clench at the brief sight of his tongue poking between kyle’s fingers, lapping at the webbing before he let him go.

his tongue there and gone again in a second. you’d almost think you’d imagined it if you didn’t see the spit glisten in the sun before kyle wiped it on his shorts.

you blinked to clear your head and turned away even as the thought of johnny’s mouth around kyle’s fingers replayed over and over in your head.

turning away meant you caught sight of elliot making his way back. it had your thoughts sobering and you looked back to the couple with an apologetic smile. “i’ll see you guys later hopefully, but if not i hope you enjoy the rest of your honeymoon guys.”

“ye trying to get rid o’ us?” johnny pouted, mischief clear in his eyes.

“no, but I know elliot will want to set off straight away so—“

“we know when we’re not wanted, love,” kyle sighed, winking at you to soften the words and let you know they weren’t offended, just pulling your pigtails. “take a hint, johnny, let’s go check out the beach.”

“aye aye, sir,” johnny saluted lazily before revving the moped back to life and waving at you over his shoulder.

“ready to go?” you jumped slightly at elliot’s voice behind you, you hadn’t realised he was so close already and when you turned around you could see he was tense.

“ready when you are,” you said and moved out of the way of the bike.

elliot didn’t mention johnny or kyle and you were thankful; the day had barely begun, you didn’t need an argument to ruin it already.

you swung your leg over the bike behind him and cuddled close, smiling when elliot rubbed a warm palm over your bare knee next to his thigh. today could be good if you just let it, you reminded yourself as elliot set off clumsily.

you lifted your head from his back once he’d managed to get the hang of controlling the moped a little better, becoming confident on the roads after a few minutes, but you wished you hadn’t.

his collar was rustling in the wind and had slipped loose around his shoulder, revealing a smudged lipstick mark previously hidden by his button up overshirt. you felt your breath hitch, unable to look away even as your eyes started to burn.

your gut clenched and rolled unpleasantly, like you could throw up any moment but your jaw was firmly clenched closed. your hands shook where they were holding elliot at the waist and you finally clenched your eyes closed.

with trembling lips, you held back a sob.

today could be good if you let it, you repeated. so let it.

---

you didn’t see kyle or johnny before you left and you didn’t mention what you saw to elliot either.

instead you went back to london, to the dreary rain and the empty flat and the weekly couples’ appointments.

you lied when your therapist asked how your honeymoon went. you grinned and turned to elliot with wide sparkling eyes and reach for his hand to hold between yours as you simpered, “simply perfect.”

but it wasn’t and elliot new it.

the breaking point was when johnny sent your throw-away email account a message one afternoon with a photo attached at the bottom. you grinned when it loaded on your laptop and you zoomed in to see your smiling face, then kyle’s, then johnnys.

it had been taken on the boat on your way back to the dock after a long day swimming and drinking and laughing. elliot had kept to himself for most of the trip unless spoken to, but after an hour you’d managed to ignore him well enough. it wasn’t until kyle pulled him up on your way back, slapped his phone into elliot’s hand and asked him to take a photo of the three of you with the water and island in the background that you remembered he was there.

“elliot, be a good lad and take the photo for us won’t ya?”

“why not ask the captain—“

“he’s done enough dealing with us fer the day, aye? oh— wait, did ye want tae be in it with us?”

“no. thank you.”

they’d thrown their arms around you, pushing and pulling you to their liking until you were stood by the edge of the boat, and smiled. your shoulders were sensitive where johnny’s arm laid over the top - sunburnt you thought at the time - and your hair was still wet from your last dip, but your smile was wide and glowing even as elliot had gritted his teeth.

despite his grumbles he’d done as asked and you’d been dying to see the photo ever since when johnny cooed, “aw, lovely photo to remember ya by.”

now you felt your cheeks heat as you saw how your swim shorts had rucked up high on your thighs, damp and clinging, showing off more skin than you’d realised. your swimsuit at least covered your stomach and cleavage well enough, though johnny’s hand on your shoulder held one of the thick strings of your suit where it had tied at the back of your neck. he was in the middle of playing with it, tugging it so it was taut but not enough to loosen the bow. you don’t remember feeling him pull at the string holding your suit up over your breasts, though you were distracted by the tight hold gaz had on your waist, the handful he’d grabbed as he knocked your hips together.

god no wonder elliot had gotten mad that evening. if you hadn’t known the two were married, you’d have assumed they were trying to get between your legs by this photo alone.

you read the message johnny had sent along with it.

missin you and yer sweet laugh, bonnie!

forgot to send the photo earlier, i think the three of us look well fit, we’ll have to go swimming gain sometime. gaz suggested leucate plage if yer still in love wih france, but im sure there’s a few different au naturel beaches we could try ;)

you sputtered a laugh at that, scoffing at the idea of going to a nude beach especially with those two. bloody hell, elliot would have a fit, you thought gleefully.

but for now we thought you could come visit us like we’d said before? the countryside could be good for you and the ol’ ball n chain. we’d be happy t have ye both for the week, we’ve got the room. just let us know, yeah?

yer handsome pal,

johnny

you shook your head at his theatrics. emailing johnny felt like having a slightly unhinged penpal and reading his emails never failed to brighten up your day, you could hear him in the way he typed. you also loved when you assumed gaz would steal the phone to use his account to talk to you, the lack of scots and shorthand was always a dead giveaway between the two.

you bit your lip and found some of the photos he’d sent previously of their home and garden. it was gorgeous simply put and although the anxiety of admitting to elliot that you’d kept in contact with them had your palms sweating, the deep urge to go visit them ultimately won out.

you bit the bullet over dinner that same night. steak, specially made to soften elliot’s mood.

not that it helped much.

“what?” he dropped his cutlery and pushed back from his seat, needing distance from you as he processed you’d been lying to him. “why would you do that?”

you didn’t have an answer. or not one that elliot would like, so you felt yourself begin to shrug before you thought back to your last session.

“our therapist said it could be good for the relationship if i made some friends separate to yours,” you said.

“she also said you needed to focus trying more with my friends,” elliot reminded.

“but your friends aren’t offering to stay with us for a week in the highlands, elliot. if they were then i’d be all for it!”

“so if i tell my friends that we’ll spend christmas at the ski lodge with them this year, you won’t whine about wanting to be at home together, this time,” he challenged.

you swallowed. he knew you hated skiing and his bitchy judgmental rich friends. it wasn’t even as though it was his easy going friends that liked to go, it was the worst of the bunch that purposely left you out or talked down to you, made it impossible to try without embarrassing yourself.

but fine. you could deal with that this year if it meant your friendship with kyle and johnny was allowed to grow.

“sure,” you said with an obviously fake casual shrug. “so we can go?”

elliot huffed. you sprung out your next argument.

“our therapist also said it was important to let me take the lead a few times. in order to let me regai—“

“regain some power in the relationship, yeah, i know. i was there.” elliot nodded. he seemed to think it over. “this will help you trust me again?”

you reached across the table and held his hand, smiling at him hopefully when he looked back at you. you tried not to think of the lipstick stain in france, tried not to let the hurt cloud you eyes. “yes.” you stood and walked to stand by his chair, chest warming when he wrapped an arm around your waist. “the honeymoon felt forced,” you admitted, making sure to keep eye contact even as he stiffened. “we both felt it, you can admit it, i’m not mad. but this would be new and an adventure. like old times, elliot.”

he nodded a little less resignedly. “sure, old times. ok.”

you smiled, dipped down to kiss him deeply, rubbing his clean shaven cheek with your thumb.

“thank you. this will be fun, i promise. we’ll get to relax and just spend some time together, yeah? no pressure of what we should be doing as a couple or at work or— or—“

elliot softened as he looked at you stutter to find another reason. “yes, darling. it’ll be good.”

you stepped out of his grasp.

“i’ll let them know we can go, what date do you think would be best?”

---

“fucking hell, you had one job. look out for the stupid carved owl in the tree and that’s when we know to turn left,” elliot seethed as he drove, the sun growing dimmer by the minute. you’d spent the entire day driving up north using the directions, had set off that saturday morning in hopes that the traffic wouldn’t be as busy as midweek. “so where are we now? you insisted on following their directions instead of using the satnav, so where the hell does it mention this endless fucking shitty, unpaved road? eh?”

you hunched down in your seat next to him and reread the instructions from soap, hoping to find a clue as to where you were on the, admittedly adorable yet detailed, map he’d drawn. you’d found it endearing when you’d first saw it but now you were thinking it was more of a necessity.

elliot snatched your phone from your hand and split his focus between the dark road and your phone, scrolling erratically to find the directions in the email he wanted. your hand hovered between you, eager to take your phone back but hesitant to foul his mood further.

your eyes caught on movement on the road and you quickly gripped the wheel to swerve and avoid hitting a deer that had wandered out from the trees. “fuck, elliot, watch out!”

he slammed on the breaks and dropped your phone into your footwell as he automatically gripped the wheel to take over from you.

you both sat still, panting; anxiety and adrenaline pumping through your body as you tried to tell it and brain that you were fine, it could calm down, you were ok. you rubbed at your shoulder where your seatbelt had dug in.

elliot started up the car again, silent, and went slower down the road until the headlights caught on a misshapen tree. you squinted before pointing it out. “here, look. i think that’s the owl, go left.”

it only took a few minutes before you could see the lights from kyle and johnny’s farmhouse. the shape of their barn and surrounding smaller outbuildings stark against the natural curves of the hills and trees they were settled amongst.

“we’re here,” you said excitedly. “they said to pull around the side of the barn to the garage they have at the side. their house should be riiight there.” you grinned as you parked directly in front of it on the gravel next to their truck.

“great,” elliot said sarcastically. you didn’t mention his tone knowing that having to drive all day, several hours longer than you’d both expected, would have rankled anyone’s mood.

you climbed out without a word and got your bags out of the back of the car. when you rounded back to the front you found johnny and kyle walking to meet you already, their front door left open behind them.

“bonnie! ye made it,” johnny said as he jogged over to you excitedly. you let go of your suitcase as he pulled you into a hug as soon as you were close enough, scuffing his stubble against your neck in his excitement.

“down, boy,” kyle laughed, nudging johnny out of the way to give you his own hug. once he pulled back he nodded to elliot and smirked. “thought you’d maybe gotten lost, we were ready to start a search party.”

elliot bristled but johnny spoke up before he could defend himself.

“aye, but tea is still warm and ready to be served, an’ ahm fucking starving so let’s get inside yeah?” johnny slapped elliot’s shoulder before leading you all to the house. “done a big roasty fer the pair a’ye, so i hope yer hungry.”

the heat encompassed you as soon as you stepped inside, led through to the kitchen-stroke-dining room. the food smelled divine and the warmth accumulated from the oven and the fireplace had your shoulders relaxing instantly.

the house was far from modern with its mismatched old wooden chairs around the handmade table and the well-loved couch you could spot through in the next room, nothing like your lifeless flat in london. but the farmhouse was still stylish in its own way, in the colour of the cabinets, the throw on couch, the wallpaper leading up the stairs. though more importantly, it was homely. lived in.

“i can imagine the drive wasnae easy for first timers, so sit yerselves down and i’ll plate the food, gaz’ll get the wine,” johnny said.

you pulled out the chair next to elliot, leaving the two opposite you empty.

johnny clapped his hands as if to say voilà when he put down your heaped plates a minute later.

“this looks amazing, johnny, you cooked this?” you asked, eyes round and barely stopping yourself from digging in to be polite.

“have a great sous chef,” he said and patted kyle’s arse when he passed by with the wine. kyle smirked.

“how did you find the drive up, seriously?” kyle asked as he poured your drinks. he took a seat with johnny and gestured for you to start eating; now with permission, you didn’t hesitate.

“it was fine. might’ve been easier if we were given an address instead, satnav might’ve made it quicker,” elliot said as he pushed around some of the steamed vegetables on his plate.

“the views made taking our time worth it though, the valleys we passed were gorgeous,” you gushed. “i didn’t realise there were so many small lakes too.”

elliot sniffed irritably, but you didn’t notice. in fact you’d barely noticed how he played with his food more than ate it as you were too busy chatting and eating. you were going crazy for the hearty roast dinner, you could see in the colour and in the bursting taste of the veg just how fresh it all was; nothing like the store bought stuff you usually got at home.

you hadn’t had anything home cooked in so long that you hadn’t made yourself, and when you told kyle and johnny so they both reared back as though slapped.

“oh love, you’re missing out, that’s not right. don’t worry we’ll take care of you while you’re here,” kyle promised.

elliot cleared his throat. “got any salt?”

johnny’s eyes flickered tersely from elliot to the roast beef he was poking on his plate and back up again. “sure. let me just grab it for ye.”

“cheers,” elliot smiled thinly.

“top up?” kyle asked and gestured to your wine glass. you nodded before turning to elliot, but he wasn’t looking your way so you held your glass out.

“thanks. god, after this and the long drive i think i’ll be ready for bed; sorry excuse for company on the first night,” you apologised.

“we’re just happy to have you here,” kyle assured you as johnny sat back down. your husband doused his food in salt before making a better dent in it, downing his wine quickly afterwards with a wince.

“yeah, i think it’ll be an early one for us tonight, won’t it, darling?” elliot said and started to stand, rudely pushing his unfinished plate away. “in fact, i think i’m pretty tired now.”

you looked down at the last few bites of your meal and the full glass of wine forlornly but stood alongside elliot.

“it really was a fantastic meal, thank you so much, johnny,” you said.

“anytime for you, hen,” he said. “here, let us show you to your room.”

“i’ll grab the dishes while you take them up, johnny. you cooked so i’ll clean,” kyle said, hooking a finger in johnny’s jeans to catch his attention when he stood up. you felt a sharp pang at their easy domesticity. sure they’d said they’d known each other, been together, for a decade, but it still ached that you and elliot where struggling so obviously in comparison despite your sixth anniversary nearing on the horizon.

you gave kyle a fragile smile as you followed johnny upstairs with your bags to your room for the week.

“i’ll leave you to it, see ye in the morning,” johnny said as you settled into your room.

“this is amazing,” you said with a small laugh, disbelief and joy mixing into something like hope as you started to get undressed. the view out of your bedroom looked over the front garden and you felt giddy at the idea of staying with your new friends for the next few days and exploring the area further.

“it’s… quaint,” elliot said.

you turned to him, your mouth pulled tight. “please don’t start.”

“what? it’s just… smaller than what we’re used to,” he said with a shrug, starting to laugh as he gestured at the room. “i mean look at this place, and the bed.”

“keep your voice down at least, elliot,” you hissed, eyes sharp on the closed door of your bedroom.

“darling, you know i get overheated easily, and by the looks of it we’re going to be pressed side by side all night. and i doubt they have a/c,” elliot huffed. he sat down on the bed and rolled his eyes when it squeaked. “oh, come on.”

“we could open the window,” you said stubbornly, ignoring elliot as he shifted to make the bed squeak again.

“and let in the smell of sheep shit? not your brightest idea,” he scoffed. “christ and never mind the bloody noise on top of that. good thing i brought my ear plugs or i’d never get any sleep.”

you bit your tongue when you thought of the constant traffic noises that flooded into your apartment at all times of the day and night, the light pollution that did its best to creep past your blackout curtains.

“i’m sure you’ll get used to it after the first couple of nights,” you said instead and moved to join him in bed. you reached for his hand and squeezed it, leaning in for a kiss, teasing your tongue at his lips for a split second before pulling back. “just… please be nice?”

he sighed.

“fine,” he conceded. “i was just expecting something a little nicer considering the price of the trip we met them on.”

you scowled at him and let go of his hand. “you’re being rude.”

you leant over to turn off your lamp and laid down facing away from him. neither of you noticed the shadows shift under your door, the light footsteps heading away from your room.

---

you woke up the next morning to find elliot already in the shower, you could hear the pipes from the bathroom next door and noticed his suitcase had been half unpacked.

you were grateful he’d let you sleep, you’d gone to bed frustrated and you didn’t want to carry it on this morning. it was a new day and you were eager to have fun.

you walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains. as you gazed out your eyes naturally drifted to johnny, stood near the barn you’d passed on your way in. he was small given the distance but you couldn’t help but stare as he rhythmically chopped logs into smaller, more manageable pieces.

he was sweating, the repetitive action of driving the axe up and then through the thick wood obviously tiring, and you felt water pool in your mouth as you looked on gormlessly.

the sleeves of his thick checked shirt were rolled up his forearms and part of you wished he’d decided to chop the wood in the driveway so you’d have a clearer view of his muscles at work. he wiped his face on his bicep and suddenly turned to the house, to your window.

you ducked away before he could catch you and started to get dressed out of the line of sight the windows may provide. with your face aflame and anxious butterflies rampant in your stomach, you needed to get your head on straight and decidedly not ogle your new friends.

with one last stern word to yourself you headed downstairs back to the kitchen and found gaz pottering around.

“ah morning, love. coffee?” he offered, holding out a cup. you took it gratefully with a small thank you and sat at the table again. there was a plate of toast in the middle, enough slices freshly made made for the four of you, and you reached forward for one. “i was thinking me and soap could show you a hiking trail nearby, make a day of it.”

“the one you showed me on your phone?” you asked, nodding enthusiastically regardless of his answer.

“this one’s even better,” gaz said, smiling fondly. “just might take longer.”

“coffee? thank you, darling,” elliot mumbled as he swiped your coffee from your hands without asking and distracting you from answering gaz. you’d barely had a sip before elliot was finishing the drink off in one go. “mm, bit too milky for my liking,” he told you and sucked his teeth.

“probably because it wasn’t for you,” kyle said flatly. “we’re going on a hike today, care to join or has work called you in already?”

“i’d love a hike,” elliot said brightly. johnny walked in through the front door as elliot continued to talk about the hikes he’d been on before, heading to the sink to wash his hands and leaning up to kiss kyle as he passed. “work can wait for the great outdoors. my wife here knows how much i love going on— on uh, on hikes and finding new trails and mapping them out.” elliot stumbled over his words for a second, taken back by the kiss.

johnny’s shoulders shook with a silent laugh and he turned and winked at you as he opened up a cupboard door that hid his face from your husband.

“oh, so you two go together?” kyle asked.

“no, no,” elliot laughed like the thought was ridiculous. “i go with my mates. not really her thing.”

you pursed your lips; you hated it when elliot answered for you, especially when he was wrong. which was often. instead of fussing though, you focused your ire on another slice of toast from the centre of the table.

“right.” kyle stood from his chair and went to lean next to johnny on one of the kitchen counters. “we’ll pack a bag full of snacks and drinks and then we can be off. give us fifteen minutes?”

you nodded, thankful for the excuse to leave elliot at the table, and went to grab your walking boots before coming back to wait with elliot near the door.

“quicker to get there from the back,” johnny said and led you through the rest of the downstairs out into the back garden.

it looked like it could spread for acres if not for the looming trees of the forest fencing it in.

to the left was their chicken coop and a small locked shed. if you turned around you’d see your cars parked, the garage and then the barn further up.

the chicken coop was on solid muddy ground, closer to the gravel front, whereas the shed was further up on the flat grassy area that began to rise into a small hill further back and closer to the trees; there was a small iron table sat with four chairs closer to the house and you couldn’t wait to use it, imagining sitting out there for lunch or breakfast.

to your right you took in their allotment, the large raised beds full of blooming vegetables; tall beans climbing the trellis arches from one side to another. you saw noticed the glint of a greenhouse hidden behind it all. everything was encouraged to grow to its fullest and you bet the food they’d served the night before had been grown by their very own hands.

“we’ve got strawberries if ye’d like tae pick some over the next few days,” johnny said as he walked you down to the end of the garden, catching the way your eyes were glued to the allotment.

“i’d love that, i haven’t been strawberry picking since i was little,” you said.

johnny nodded. “settled then.”

---

the hike wasn’t difficult, but living down south in a very flat city hadn’t built up your cardio for the steep hills and climbs at all.

“this is a good place to stop for lunch,” johnny said, apropos to nothing.

he squeezed your arm as he wandered off the path towards the edge of the hill. you were halfway there to the top, but already you were loving the views.

“knee bothering you, johnny?” kyle asked as he pulled out a rainproof sheet from his bag and started placing the food out in the tupperware boxes.

“something like that,” he said.

you laughed when you saw johnny pull out a bottle of wine from his.

“just tryin’ tae make use of all the wine we bought on holiday, hen,” he snickered.

you sat down and helped them spread the food out while your husband paced from the ledge to the path and then to the blanket, only to start again.

“have a seat elliot,” you said encouragingly, patting the space you’d left purposely empty next to you.

he slumped down with a huff and kyle side-eyed him.

“how was your night? sleep well?”

“hope the room wasnae too small,” johnny added, biting into a cheese cracker as he looked to your husband.

you felt your stomach drop and your face heat up. “no, not at all—“

“i think i’m just used to the finer things,” elliot said, picking up one of the packed travel cups pointedly and pouring himself some wine.

“we slept fine,” you said firmly as you frowned at elliot. “it’s perfect.”

“ah, we’re just joking around, hen, no need to fash,” johnny teased. “you pack yer paints?”

“shit.” your face dropped as you looked at him. “i completely forgot when i was packing, i was too excited.”

johnny grinned. “you can borrow mine, it’s alright.”

“if they’re not dried up that is,” kyle said with a laugh. “i’ve not seen you touch paints in years, johnny.”

“they’re water paints, gaz, they’re meant tae be dry,” johnny said with a roll of his eyes. he looked to you and covered the side of his mouth. “yer a breath o’fresh air, ye have no idea. i love him but he doesnae have the eye fer it, you know?”

“im right bloody here,” kyle said exasperatedly, making you laugh.

“fucking hell,” your husband muttered under his breath before standing. “i think i’m gonna go ahead and have a look at the trail, get a lay of the land. i’ll turn around in ten and meet you back here.”

“are you sure?” you asked at the same time johnny warned him, “don’t go off the path.”

“why not?” elliot asked, taking it as a challenge despite johnny’s grave tone.

“go straight so you don’t get lost,” johnny repeated seriously. “it’s a tricky place, these woods. one wrong turn and you’ll ne’er be found.”

elliot stayed silent for a moment, left off kilter by johnny’s intense eyes, before laughing, waving him of with a scoff. “sure thing, johnny.”

you watch your husband walk off with an uneasy feeling before kyle and johnny’s easy going nature distracted you once more.

before you knew it it’d been twenty minutes, but you were too busy talking about how they’d ended up moving out so far away from their original shared home, that you hadn’t noticed elliot wasn’t back yet.

“it’s great here, but it can feel… lonely sometimes, just the two of us,” johnny admitted as he looked to kyle. the handsome man nodded and knocked their knees together.

“i know how that feels,” you said, three cups of wine having loosened your lips.

“yeah?” kyle asked softly, tilting his head to meet your downcast eyes.

you opened and closed your mouth a few times before taking a deep breath.

“i want a baby,” you said weakly, sadly. you were quiet as though hoping not to be overheard. “elliot doesn’t think it’s the right time, but im starting to doubt it’d ever be the right time if it were up to him.”

you blink at the anger that had seeped into your last words and gasped as you realised that you’d actually finally said them out loud. not even your therapist had gotten you to admit this.

“oh god, please forget i said that,” you begged them suddenly, wide eyed and pleading. “please. don’t say anything to elliot about it. i— i think i’ve just drank a little too much,” you tried to excuse yourself.

“hey, it’s ok,” johnny said with a concerned frown.

“i didn’t mean it,” you rushed out.

kyle moved to elliot’s previous spot and pulled you in for a warm hug, calming you down.

“it’s normal to want things and to be disappointed when the person that promised you them can’t deliver,” he whispered. you sniffled and slowly wrapped your arms back around him with a nod, tears building behind yojr closed eyelids. you slumped into his hold further when johnny’s large hand rubbed soothingly across your back below kyle’s arms.

it was nice. simply being between them and being comforted by them was nice.

you leaned back and wiped at your eyes with a sniffly laugh.

“thank you, guys, i— thank you.”

gaz squeezed your shoulder for a moment before finally letting you go.

you felt fidgety, needing to do something with your hands and to keep them from staring at your red rimmed eyed, so you reached for a handful of grapes when it suddenly occurred to you that elliot wasn’t back. you looked at your watch and swore.

“elliot’s not here yet, shit what if he’s lost?”

“he won’t be,” johnny reassured you, standing alongside you and grabbing your shoulders. “he’s an experienced hiker, right? he probably lost track a’time like we did.”

“let’s get this packed away and we’ll go catch up to him,” kyle suggested. you nodded, easily calmed once given easy orders to occupy your busy mind

---

“elliot?” you called out as you walked, johnny and kyle on either side of you, looking out into the trees in case he’d gone off track. “you there? elliot?”

“stop shouting, christ, i’m here,” elliot complained further up the trail. he was slouched against a tree. “took you all long enough.”

“oh my god, what happened,” you said as you crouched next to him, looking at the sorry swollen state of his ankle.

“twisted it looks like, worst-case it could be a sprain,” kyle said from over your shoulder. “should be fine, we can get home with him leaning on our shoulders, right, soap?”

johnny tutted in disappointment as he stared down the path instead of at your injured husband.

“the waterfall was only five minutes away as well,” johnny said to no one in particular. he crouched next to elliot. “c’mon then, let’s get you back.”

your husband bristled. he looked longingly down the trail johnny had gestured to just a moment before.

“we should still go, i’ll be fine,” he insisted. “we should go to the waterfall.”

gaz raised his eyebrows incredulously as he helped elliot stand, but he stayed silent.

“you want to lean on me or johnny?” he asked.

“whoever gets us there quicker,” elliot said, face pinched.

kyle rolled his eyes and set off walking, leaving elliot to wince until he matched kyle’s stride. luckily the walk wasn’t long before the four of you cut off the trail and found yourselves stood at the bottom of the waterfall, a light mist of water splashing at your bare skin from where you stood.

“holy shit.”

johnny nudged your shoulders together with a laugh.

“impressive, right?”

“to say the least,” you huffed.

kyle had helped elliot sit down by the edge of the plunge pool with his leg stretched out as you’d taken in the view with johnny, though you soon took a seat next to elliot when you noticed he was situated as comfortable as could be. you pulled off your shoes and socks and shuffled forwards a little to dip your feet in the water, kicking lightly and grinning even with how the cold bit at your toes.

elliot stayed stern faced even as he looked at the impressive feature, but kyle and johnny took no notice.

they started to undress, throwing their clothes down haphazardly by their bags.

“you coming in?” kyle asked you cheekily.

“we go in every time we’re here, tradition now,” johnny explained once he was stood in his underwear.

“i don’t have my swimsuit,” you said hesitantly.

“jus’ go in yer kegs like us,” johnny dismissed the worry.

“it’s probably for the best she’s said no,” elliot said meanly, one eyebrow raised as he looked over your relaxed form, your stomach rolls obvious and plush under the afternoon sun and your thighs spread thick where they pressed against the edge of the natural pool. you suddenly felt the need to layer up in your baggiest clothes. “she’s happy enough sat with me. isn’t that right, darling?”

you felt embarrassment, hot and sharp, flood from your face to your toes as you stared at him. this was your husband. a man that took delight in belittling you.

“oi,” johnny warned from where he stood waist deep in the water.

you ignored them both and stood suddenly, shucking off your clothes with tight angry movements, a smile only eventually pulling at your lips when kyle wolf whistled playfully.

johnny joined in jeering and clapped as you stepped carefully closer to the edge before jumping in. once you resurfaced, you resolutely faced away from the scowl you knew would be on your husband’s face. you were past caring.

the cold of the water had you sucking in thinner breaths until you acclimatised, and you were grateful it was deep enough to brush your collarbones as you could tell your nipples were babbling from the chill.

“be careful, love, there are fish in here,” gaz said as he drifted closer to your front. his smile was bordering on mischievous but it eased your slight reservations of being in the water. “but don’t worry they don’t bite.”

you felt a sudden pinch on your buttcheek and you squealed before johnny’s laugh and warm chest at your back registered. you flushed hot and dug your elbow back into his ribs as they laughed, both barely giving you space to float alone.

they guided you closer to the waterfall with easy going smiles and it wasn’t until you felt their capable hands on your hips and tummy to keep you from being dragged under as you held your hands under the heavy pour that you looked back guiltily at your husband. you pushed off and away from them but continued to swim a little while longer until elliot kicked up a fuss, bored.

“are we done now? it’s getting dark, we should be heading back,” he spoke up when it looked like the three of you weren’t tiring any time soon. “and then there’s dinner to think of.”

“you offering to cook, elliot?” kyle said as he climbed out of the water.

elliot scoffed. “not likely. with the ankle and all,” he said patronisingly.

gaz smiled thinly. “of course.”

the three of you dried off as best you could before dressing and heading back to the farmhouse with elliot leant between johnny and kyle.

even as your clothes chafed against your damp skin, you couldn’t bring yourself to regret swimming. thought the cold was biting even through your coat, and a warm shower was calling for you back at the farmhouse.

---

once you were back you showered quickly and then ran a bath for elliot. you helped ease him in so he didn’t slip and further injure himself.

“put on a real fucking show today,” he grumbled once he was laid back. you cupped the water over his hair carefully.

“what do you mean?” you grabbed the shampoo and began lathering it.

“don’t play dumb,” he hissed. “acting like that, like a whore, with them. again.”

“i wasn’t—“

“you’re a fucking hypocrite,” he said harshly. “punishing me for one little mistake but now you get to act like this with other men?”

you let your hands hang over the edge of the tub in shock. “you cheated on me. more than once, elliot. that’s not a little mistake.”

“we’re past this,” he said tiredly with a shake of his head, rubbing his hand over his forehead to wipe away the dripping shampoo.

“then why did you bring it up?”

he turned to look at you, disgust clear on his face.

“you’re ugly when you get like this,” he said simply. “leave me to it, i’ll call you in when i need a hand getting out.”

your lip trembled as you stood and went back to your room. as you closed the door behind you, you heard elliot mutter to himself, “he’s an absolute idiot thinking this was only a twisted ankle, clearly not a doctor. the swelling has hardly gone down.”

you didn’t react, heading to the room next door with watery eyes. as you were tidying up your clothes, sniffling back angry and hurt tears, there was a knock on the doorframe. your turned to see johnny with a plate in his hand.

“thought i’d make things easier and bring his tea up fer him,” he said and put it on the bedside table. “do you want me to bring up yours too or will you be joining us?”

“oh, i’m not hungry, thank you johnny,” you said with a watery smile. the food looked delicious but elliot’s words had soured your appetite. “i think i’m just going to go to bed as soon as elliot’s alright.”

“ye sure?”

“mhm.” you nodded.

johnny nodded, said a soft, “let me know if ye change your mind.” he pulled out a pack of pain tablets from his pocket with a little wave and dropped them on the bed and then left.

you waited for elliot’s shout before you went to help him out of the bath and back through to your room. you left him to dry and dress himself and once he was sat on the bed with his food, you turned your back to him and willed yourself to fall asleep quickly.

part two

want to email johnny? click here!

[little-red-fool]

Can you draw some doodles of true form haarlep? Maybe first meeting Raphael or smth if u want. XD

The real reason Raphael asks Haarlep to take his form.