#timeless Scroogeverse

[quill-pen]

The same way that Connie gets advice from Bess on the big wedding day about her building anxiety (from remembering what happened last time) mirroring how Adonis seeks help from Wolf.

He could ask Harry, Bob, Tom and Jake, and he has. They’re just all very DIFFERENT from him. He wants the opinion of another gent that knows him best … his brother.

“I feel like I’m forgetting something. Am I forgetting something? Do you think Connie is okay? I heard Bess was with her … oh gods, did I force her to move too fast? S-Should I go to her, do you think? Am I just an old fool for wanting this to work? You have permission to poke and prod me for this forever, but … I need someone to help me calm down. ACTUALLY calm down. If I accepted every shot or cigar I’ve been offered this evening, I’d be on the floor in a pile dizzy and huffing like some freshman.”

Wolf wouldn't be able to help himself from smirking a little bit at his brother. It's been a long time since he's seen his twin this worked up and worried. At least, without the presence and actions of Christmas spirits being behind it all. He just takes a chair and sits calmly in front of the door to keep Adonis from bolting out. It's not the fact Adonis will run away, but the fact, in this state, he'll bolt to Connie and make a fool of himself being in nothing but his drawers. (The creases in his pant legs were not acceptable, according to Magda, so she's fixing them last minute.)

"I received specific instructions from the ladies you're not to see Connie until the first look/she comes down the aisle (you pick what you want them to do, Romey). So, you try leaving this room before then, and I'll knock you flat on your bloody arse just like I used to when we were children. You're not putting me in the doghouse with Bess."

"I'm not being funny, Charlie."

"Neither am. Look, Sammy, Connie is fine. She has Bess and the girls taking care of her. In fact, I'm willing to wager she's in a far better state than you at the moment. Are you sure the pink hearts are the skivvies you want to go with?"

"Charlie! I'm asking you for help, and you decide commentary on my undergarments is the best possible solution!"

"Connie got them for you, didn't she?"

Adonis makes an explosive noise that's part incredulous laugh and part frustrated huff. He throws out his wide wingspan in defeat. "Yes! Yes, as a matter of fact, she did! Are you happy?! Is that what you wanted to know?!"

He turns away to cross the small room and flop onto a lounge on the other side. Covering his face with both hands he massages his brow. "Bloody brothers! You ask them to help get your thoughts in order and they just wind you up to boil and spin!"

Wolf rolls his eyes at the dramatics, but a good-natured smile curls his lips. "All right, all right, Sammy, cool down. I'm sorry. What do you need me to do? Go through the checklist again?"

His twin's desperate but miffed voice is a bit muffled behind his thick palms: "Yes, that would be quite helpful , thank you!"

"Fine. Do you have the ring?"

One of Adonis' hands goes to his breast pocket. "Yes."

"Good. What about your vows? I'm sure you've memorized them by now, but do you have them just in case?"

Adonis sits up and reaches inside his suit jacket to finger inside the hidden pocket. He finds the note cards. "Yes."

"Good. You have your tie. Your jacket. Cufflinks. You have your watch with Connie's portrait in the lid?"

"At the suite, wrapped up. I've decided to present it to her tonight as a wedding gift."

Wolf smiles a bit softly at the endearing sentimentality. "She'll love that," he remarks sincerely.

Adonis gives him a hopeful look. "Do you really think so?"

"I know so."

Adonis smiles a little.

"All right," Wolf huffs. "The ring, the watch, tie, jacket, cufflinks, waistcoat. Soon as Magda finishes your trousers, I think you're all set, Brother. So what are you so worried about?"

His twin's expression turns irked again: Weddings certainly seemed to make men just as emotionally volatile as women. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the fact I'm wedding the most amazing and gorgeous woman in the world who, for reasons beyond human comprehension, has chosen to love and marry me above anyone else and I'd rather not flub this chance up like I have before and hurt her more than she already has been?" He's a bit red-faced at the end of his diatribe, panting and puffing so the buttons on his waistcoat slightly strain.

Wolf just blinks placidly back. "Sammy. You overthink things."

"Oh, that's jolly rich coming from you, Mr. Should-I-or-shouldn't-I-tell-Bess-fancy-her?-Nevermind!-Better-to-just-pine-like-a-lovesick-puppy."

Wolf's mouth twists in annoyance but he just breathes deeply. "I'll let that go, in lieu of the high-stress events of the day," he states.

"Also because you can't deny it," Adonis mutters.

A slight flush colors Wolf's face at that, but he chooses to ignore once again. "Sammy, tell me: Do you not want to marry Constance?"

"No, of course I want to marry her! She's the best thing that's ever happened to me; the sunlight of my life! I-I didn't realize it was possible to love someone as deeply and fully as I love Connie. She's my everything."

"But...?"

"... But... do I deserve her, Charlie? With my history? I neglected and abandoned Isabel and lost her. And, while I've tried my hardest to change from what I was... who's to say I won't do that again? I didn't realize it was happening last time until it was far too late. Bloody hell, I don't think I recognized it until that Christmas Eve! How do I know I won't miss the slip ups again?"

Adonis buries his face in his hands as he shakes his head. "I can't lose Constance, Charlie. Losing Isabel due to my own foolishness ruined me almost past hope. Losing Constance to it would end me, I fear."

With a sigh, Wolf rubs his chin in thought for a moment before rising from his chair and trodding the small distance to the lounge. He sits down beside his brother and clasps his shoulder in a warm, brotherly grip. "Sammy, do you want to know the difference between your relationship to Isabel and your relationship to Connie?"

"What?"

"You just told me Connie is your everything. As much as you loved her, you never ever once said that about Isabel."

Adonis slowly lifts his head and looks at his brother in silent realization.

Wolf smiles encouragingly at him.

Suddenly there is a knock on the door and it opens to reveal Magda. Beaming, she holds up a long pair of freshly ironed trousers and sings: "They're perfect now!"

[quill-pen]

So, angsty ask:

Do you think the Twins ever have nightmares about the wifeys leaving them? Like, Bess/Connie find out the extent of their pasts and (although the irl versions have accepted and love them) they still dream that they sporadically change their minds and decided to leave?

“You’re no better than the man I fled from.”

Or, they dream that they returned to their former selves, and their wives fall out of love with them?

Horrible visions of their wife turning away in disgust/tears haunt them. A life beyond salvation? So be it. But living a life knowing he drove the love of his life away AGAIN? They couldn’t do it.

Then they awaken, gasping for air.

In bed, wifey is right next to them, probably still naked and smiling from a night of passionate love-making, and he tried to quiet his breaths/sobs to not disturb her, and relief sinks in.

Absolutely they do. In every timeline, Bess' Eb has such nightmares, especially near the beginning of their romantic relationship. But the fear behind the dreams also sometimes vary.

Lots of times, he dreams that she either rejects him because of his past or that he returns to his old ways and drives her away. More than once Bess has woken up to find him after a nightmare, and she just embraces him, showering him with kisses, caresses, and gentle words. She reminds him she knows what he was like before he changed; he has been honest with her about it (often to his own detriment); she's heard other people's accounts; she's witnessed how lots of people still fear and despise him for his history.

"I love and admire you all the more because of it. It's proof how much you've changed and how strong your dedication to being a better man truly is. Your past doesn't disgust me--it saddens me. Because I can't help but think how lonely and hurt you must have felt for so long, and how much you must have despised yourself to let yourself fall into that way. I know you, and I know you won't go back to that. And you know that I won't let you either. I have you."

Sometimes, especially if he's been talking with people who have made comments and he's been witness to Bess receiving attention from men closer to her age at a party, his nightmares will be about her leaving him for someone younger, handsomer, spryer. He does trust Bess completely, of course. But with his past history with most women, it's no surprise these are very deep-seated insecurities that, occasionally, get triggered. He's working on squashing them, with Bess' help.

It certainly does help when he watches Bess turn down interested parties, excusing herself from conversations with some of the most eligible young bachelors in the blueblood stud book to immediately beeline towards him when she spots him across a room. She'll greet him with a socially acceptably passionate kiss, like she knows he was in need of just a bit of reassurance that she's his and his alone. She probably does; she can read him so well. Then, at home, she'll further reassure him in their bedroom how he's the only man she wants--the only man she needs. "You are the only man in my world. Every other may as well be blood or boys."

In the DNDverse, specifically, he has terrible nightmares of losing control of his wolf and killing Bess, or worse, turning her into what he is. Bess has gotten rid of most of her silver, but Eb has insisted she keep the pure silver pendant from her priestesshood and wear it during the full moons when he is at his wildest, strongest, and most vicious and uncontrolled. Silver hurts him in general, but it's even more repulsive to him when wolfed out. During a regular transformation he can withstand being around her if she were to wear it (she refuses to in those circumstances). Under a full moon, the silver of her pendant is so pure in quality, she might as well be protected by a magical barrier, his wolf stays so far away.

Bess isn't the biggest fan of this; she hates the idea of causing her beloved discomfort and not being able to be close to him, but it certainly has seemed to help assuage Eb's fears and made him feel more comfortable (ironically). And that's what matters. So out comes the full moon and on goes the pendant for one lonely, heartbreaking night. It's painful, but it's worth it for all the other happy ones together.

[quill-pen]

@rom-e-o in Timeless, the Wolves' first date at Wolf's apartment?

A homemade, Italian meal that Wolf worked on perfecting for at least two weeks beforehand. The practice was worth it--it tastes very delicious.

Bess insisting on helping with the dishes which ultimately leads to a splash fight.

Chasing each other around the flat because of the fight, tackling onto and wrestling on the couch that turns into passionate necking.

The first time Bess' top and bra come off in the relationship. Heavy petting, fingering, handies, and humping subsequently follow.

Semi-naked slow-dancing to amazing music, particularly this song:

Lots of kisses and affection and enough wine consumption that Bess gets weepy and Wolf doesn't feel comfortable enough driving or putting her in a cab/uber by herself. So, both parties end up falling asleep, snuggled up together on the couch.

[quill-pen]

Inspired by recent pics, imagine:

The Pack girls get some money together during the early days in the cottage and do a boudoir photoshoot. To have fun, lift each other’s spirits, hype each other up (“oh my gosh, how is it LEGAL for someone to look that beautiful?!”) and hype each other up! Kind of like their lingerie parties, but with souvenirs, haha!

Then, when they’re all with their hubbies, they do it again. The pictures are saucier and more private this time, and ladies like Nancy, Ethel and Hela and others jump in to join. Wouldn’t shock me if TeTe did the same.

Then each lucky man gets a fancy book of photos from their wifey from the day, as a lovely present. 💕

This gives Valentine’s vibes, but honestly, they could probably do it anytime with how down bad these couples are for each other. 😏

Yes, I LOVE this idea. So much fun for these ladies and a bonding experience to empower each other!

Also, imagining the hubbies getting to see the original photos at some time in the relationship.😏 And then getting the second photos later on.🥵 It's like a before and after sort of thing. Before hubby: sexy, but more of a cute, flirty sexy. After hubby: the sensual, risque, scandalous sexiness of a woman who's found the person who brings that out in her and makes her feel safe and confident.

These men have no idea how they landed so well on their feet.

[quill-pen]

Going along with the Twins having their new sister-in -laws, imagine them being the ones that help each of them prepare for their first wedding dance? 🥹

Adonis trains with Bess, and Wolf trains with Connie. It helps that Bess and Connie are nearly identical heights, and Adonis and Wolf are literally twins.

I imagine it’s helpful for both the brides and grooms.

Oooh, I love this idea. They're worried to mess up or step all over wifey's toes, so they ask their sister to help them "train".😂 Which is so funny because, in my og timeline, it's Wolf that helps teach Bess to waltz in order to avoid her making a fool of herself at her family's parties. So I can tell you, he might be rusty, but he already does know how to dance! And in Timeless they dance together in their flat all the time. But, I guess, slow-dancing in front of a crowd might be a little nerve-wracking and throw the boys off their games.😅

Now, imagine that carry that on to the weddings? The boys can't have a mother-son dance. But they can have a brother-sister dance.🥹

[quill-pen]

A Red Sunrise; A Timeless Scroogeverse Tale

Summary: Bess and Wolf awake to a rather unwelcome surprise.

Warnings: Periods and period blood, mention of past abuse, brief mention of witnessing past violence

Many women would have considered Bess fortunate. For one thing, there was the whole being-exclusively-involved-with-a-filthy-rich-man-who-adored-you-thing. For another, she had many close friends that were more like family who would gladly do and give anything for her, and she would gladly do the same in return. But arguably the one thing that most women would probably consider Bess most fortunate for was the fact of her womanly cycle. When you only ever, at most, had three periods in a year and oftentimes didn't even have that many, it was hardly a surprise that most other women would consider that the most fortunate thing in your life.

Bess could see their point and understand their reasoning, truly, but she didn't at all agree. Hardly having a period more than three times a year brought its own annoyances and hardships. Not to mention that it was a side effect of her past trauma and, thus, a constant reminder of both said trauma and the fact that it had stolen her chance at future motherhood from her. Those facts, and the thoughts and feelings they generated, only ever made the typical mood swings that came with periods worse. And of course there was the overall fact that Bess' periods, in an apparent attempt to make up for the fact that they were few and far between, always came at random and very inopportune times, lasted about two weeks, and made said weeks an absolute living nightmare in terms of the typical symptoms.

The fact Bess could never prepare for the onslaughts was probably the worst part. Sometimes her body warned her in advance with sudden changes in mood and appetite, cramping, headaches, the typical telltale signs. Other times, like this morning, she simply awoke to a violent murder scene in her pajama pants that had unfortunately soaked through to the sheets. And even more unfortunately, they weren't even her sheets on her bed, as she and Wolf had reached the milestone of staying over at each other's places for a weekend.

Yet, somehow, bleeding through in a bed that wasn't hers that wasn't the worst. As Bess had been snuggled into Wolf and using his chest as a pillow, she'd had a leg hiked up over his his to slot next to the man more comfortably. Thus a rather large bloodstain had spread over the man's hip and thigh as well

Bess quickly backed away from the sleeping Englishman, tears immediately welling up in her eyes and spilled over her cheeks. Completely unable to rein in her emotions and stop them for the moment, the woman began sobbing. She helplessly threw herself into a pillow and wailed. She felt humiliated, horrified, and yet, at the same time, completely, rage-inducingly unsurprised. Of course, her body would choose to betray her with no warning on her first weekend staying over at her boyfriend's! Why wouldn't it?! When had it ever granted her any favors?

Roused by both her movements and cries, Wolf stirred and stretched out a hand, groping around for the woman he'd fallen asleep snuggled up with. "Hmm-Bess?" His hand made contact with a rather wet and warm patch as it passed over the sheets. The man paused, probing at the strange area, the cogs in his sleep-addled mind slowly beginning to turn and move. That wasn't a typical thing to feel in one's bed. Neither was hearing your sweetheart crying a typical sound to wake to.

Wolf opened his eyes, his bleary gaze first landing on Bess curled up and crying all the way on the other side of his large mattress. He shot up onto his elbow, instantly alarmed. "Brightness, what-" he stopped as he suddenly saw the dark, reddish stain stretched down the insides of her pantlegs. Then he noticed the large, bloody blotches trailing across the mattress towards him, and finally the stain on his own pants.

Memories of finding old Marley stabbed, brutalized, and covered in blood slammed into the forefront of Wolf's mind. Instinct kicked in: The billionaire scrambled out of bed in a panic. "Bloody fuck!" Still not fully awake and processing things as he normally would, Wolf ripped off his pajama bottoms and quickly inspected his crotch and thigh. Where was he bleeding?! How was he bleeding?! Why was he bleeding so badly for Bess to become bathed in a pool of his blood?! Or had something happened to Bess that she was hurt too?! It was a few half-asleep moments before the man's brain began to really wake up and realize what was actually going on.

As the truth dawned, relief washed over the philanthropist. It was quickly replaced with sympathy, as he turned his attention toward Bess, still curled up and hiding in the pillows. Grabbing his dressing gown from the foot of the bed, Wolf quickly covered himself and went to his girlfriend. "Oh, my moonlight."

"I'm sorry!" Bess bawled into her pillow as his hand gently gripped her shoulder. "I'm so sorry for making a mess! I'm sorry, Wolf! I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to--I'm sorry!"

The man gently scooped the woman up and cradled her against him; the idea of getting bloody again wasn't even a thought in his mind. "Shh, Brightness," he hushed her. "I know. It was an accident--I know. Shhhh." He stroked her hair as he rocked her.

Bess clung to his, balling his robe into white-knuckled fists. "I-I didn't know! I swear I didn't know my period was-I didn't feel any warnings! I didn't mean to bleed all over your bed, Ebenezar--I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Shhh-of course you didn't, Bess--I know that. You just had a little accident, that's all. These things happen; it's nothing to be upset over."

The pair sat curled together for a long while before Bess finally started to quiet and calm down. When the tears and sniffles had stopped altogether, she slowly pulled away from Wolf's chest and took better stock of her bloody wake. The woman hung her head and moaned with shame. "I'm so, so, so sorry, Moonsong," she lamented again.

Wolf hugged her more tightly to his chest and kissed her crown. "It wasn't something you could help," he cooed soothingly. "It will wash out, and even if it doesn't, everything is easily replaceable."

Bess buried her red-hot face in her hands. "I just... I can't believe I bled all over you and your bed during my first stayover! We went to bed perfectly fine and now it looks like fricking Jaws came up in here and had a feeding frenzy! I'm so embarrassed!"

"You have no reason to feel ashamed, Bess. There is no shame whatsoever in this; it's simply nature."

"Ill-timed nature."

Wolf chuckled. "That's true, I'll admit. Reminds me of how I passed gas during our very first necking session."

Bess snorted into her hands. "I tried to warn you off Josie's cheesy green beans," she reminded him.

"Greasy, cheesy green beans," Wolf muttered with some disgust.

Bess smirked up at him. "Well, duh. That's why I tried to warn you."

Wolf laughed and pressed a lingering kiss to his sweetheart's cheek.

Bess basked in the affection as she giggled at the rather smelly memory. "So..." she sighed after a moment, looking back at the mess, "... this... doesn't bother you? It doesn't... gross you out?"

Wolf cast his eyes over the scene again. "I'm not thrilled about it, I admit," he answered. "Not anymore than you are. I don't think blood in the sheets is what any person wants to wake up to. But it's nothing to make a stink over. As I said, accidents happen." He gave the woman an empathetic look. "Did it bother Oliver?" he inquired softly.

Bess smiled sadly. He knew her so well. "Yeah," she croaked with a sniff. "He'd get so disgusted at just the mention of menstrual stuff he'd gag. Forget asking him to run to the store to grab some pads in an emergency. Luckily, by the time we were together, my cycle was like it is now, so we didn't deal with it all that often. Mama was worse about it. My first cycle happened a lot like this. As if I wasn't already freaking out enough that I was bleeding between my legs, Mama made it worse by throwing a huge fit and switching me. George was away for work at the time so, he couldn't defend me."

Wolf was sure his heart had shattered into pieces at those words. Reaching up, with both hands, he cupped Bess' face between them and stroked the remaining tears from her freckled cheeks with soft thumbs. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Moonlight," he rasped. "That must have been so terrible for you."

Bess shrugged. "Sure wasn't fun, anyway."

Wolf gave her a little smile before leaning in to gently kiss the woman. "Why don't you hop in a long shower?" he quietly suggested when they pulled apart. "I'll get the bed cleaned up and order in some breakfast."

Bess blinked in shock. He was going to clean up after her? And then order breakfast in rather than having her make it? "Are... are you sure?" she asked, voice quiet in her dumbfoundedness.

The man simply smiled. "Unless you'd rather I make breakfast? I should warn you, I can't guarantee the quality of the food, if that's the case, but it will at the very least be edible."

"No, no, that's not what I meant--I just... I can make breakfast, Wolf. I can take care of the bed too--it is my mess after all."

Wolf laughed and shook his head. "Nonsense! The truth of the matter is, my beautiful girl, this weekend has just turned into an exclusive pampering session for you, whether you like it or not. Anything you want and need is yours. I am at your beck and call. The world is your oyster!" He swooped back in to give the Yankee another kiss, this one more passionate than the last. And when he pulled back again, he pecked another to her nose. "Now, I'll hear no more dissent. Into the shower with you, Ms. Sullivan, before you dot another 'i'. Leave your pajamas outside the door and I'll take care of everything."

Before the woman had a chance to protest again, the Englishman stood, took her by the hands, and pulled her out of bed as well. Wrapping an arm around her, Wolf led Bess in the direction of the bathroom. "You should find what you need in the bottom cupboard closest to the toilet," he informed her.

Bess looked up at him in surprise. "What I need?" she echoed him. "You mean-"

"Feminine hygiene products, yes," Wolf answered with a smile. "I'm fairly certain I have one of everything in there."

"But... what are you doing with all that stuff?"

"What if I told you I collect such things?"

"Wolf, honestly."

"I have a niece-in-law that likes to visit, Brightness. You and the girls have swung by often enough since we came into each other's lives, and I also have a regular maid. It made sense to have things by the way in case of an emergency. Sammy has the same setup at his place."

Bess was quiet as she stared at the tall, steely-haired gentleman in wonder. Then she stepped into him, went up on tiptoe, and pressed her mouth against his once again, looping her arms around his neck to coax him closer. She melted into him when he coiled his arms around her waist. "You are a spectacular, wonderful, amazing man, Ebenezar Charles Scrooge," she whispered against his lips as she gazed up into his hooded eyes. "I love you."

The man smiled warmly, his already gentle eyes softening to a heartbreaking degree as he let his head fall so his brow bumped into hers. "I love you too, Elizabeth Felicity Sullivan," he whispered back. Pulling her even closer in his arms, he kissed the beautiful, coal-haired American again.

@rom-e-o Been a little while since I did a short, sweet thing for them.🤗

[quill-pen]

@rom-e-o

Before the Wolves become a thing but chemistry is definitely there, the Pack helping Bess make a music video with her cover of this for... 🤷🏻‍♀️reasons? And all the guys being respective love interests for the girls in the video with Wolf, of course, being the main love interest.

[quill-pen]

@rom-e-o

Wolf being so amped up on emotions and so nervous and excited to marry Bess, that when they go to sign the license, he spells his brother's name instead of his.🤣

Adonis loves to use this for teasing and you can bet it ended up as a last minute addition to his best man speech. "Today, I thought I was gaining a lovely and beloved sister, but something even better has happened. Today, thanks to my brother, I've gained another lovely and beloved wife. But I am a generous man so, Brother, seeing as I already have a bride that I am beyond happy with and I don't believe I have what it takes to wrangle two Yankee women, I bequeath this dark-haired beauty to your care. Treat her well."

[quill-pen]

SUPER random ask - but we've established the ladies shop for lingerie. Imagine the ladies are out, maybe on an international trip, and decide to pop in a store and pick up a few things. Do we picture the boys being helpful? Example: I'm imagining Bess asking Wolf, "Honey, what do you think about this?" and as he turns to provide her with requested feedback, he spots Connie and her choices, and SWIVELS AWAY SO FAST. THAT'S HIS SISTER-IN-LAW. Yes, he's a mature man, BUT STILL. The principle! B: Um, you're not looking. W: I know. B: No good? W: I didn't see, honestly. I saw Connie with a strappy ... something and looked away so fast that my neck cracked.

Ooooh, yeah.😅 They'd be helpful with their own wives (if they can manage to keep their hands off them, anyway), but for their sisters-in-law? They're too loyal, honorable, and protective to let themselves look. Even in a clinical or technical manner.🤣

I think the girls would find it endearing though. Their men don't want to look at anyone but them?🥹 For Bess, that's never been her experience.

[quill-pen]

@rom-e-o

Gal's voice:

2. The song that got Bess a regular gig at Gal's and Jacob's pub (two-in-one cafe and pub) when she sang on karaoke night there.

[quill-pen]

Just had a thought. What if, one day, Bess opens the door to her and Wolf’s flat to find Connie there. She was out in the rain, and was clearly crying.

“Bess, I … may I come in? I think … I’ve made a terrible mistake.”

She reveals that something happened with her and Adonis. Not a fight, per say, but a disagreement. Something trivial - probably around her getting herself way too stressed out over work. He hates to see her slip into the same workaholic tendencies he once did. He raised his voice out of passion, and she (switching into post-Orin survival mode) FREAKS OUT and storms out of the building immediately. She leaves her phone/keys behind, and just runs.

She’s out there for hours until she goes to Bess. Adonis has probably called Bess/Wolf and Magda frantically by this point, as she’s been gone for hours.

“I’ve ruined things,” she says to Bess. “I ran, like a child, and … oh, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. H-Has he called you? Is he mad? Oh, hell, of course he’s mad…I can’t believe I hurt him like that. After everything he’s done for me, how could I be so cruel?”

Ooooooh, this is good. So we did a thing.

CONNIE. Sweetheart.🥺😭💕

Warnings: Discussion of postpartum depression particularly concerning thoughts of harm, family drama and angst, mention of birth (nothing graphic), let me know what else I can add/change. I've never had any real experience with PPD before, only heard tales.

~🍓🌅🍓🌅🍓🌅🍓🌅🍓🌅🍓🌅🍓🌅🍓🌅~

All the Little Breaks

Bess was doing her best to keep calm as she paced the perimeter of her and her fiancé's flat. The London sky was dark and gloomy. Rain beat a steady rhythm against the large windowpanes of the high-rise luxury loft as the sky danced with lightning and thunder rolled. It wasn't a tumultuous downpour, but still, it was weather most people wouldn't desire to be out in. It was weather the dark-haired American usually enjoyed, but, at this moment, she found no comfort in it.

Bess' phone was pressed to her ear, an onslaught of distraught chatter from her soon-to-be brother-in-law, Ebenezer Scrooge (or, as she affectionately called him, "Adonis"), pouring into her consciousness. The more the deluge of worry and distress from the man continued on, the harder it was for Bess to try and keep her own head on straight about the situation. She was a natural worrier, especially when it came to her loved ones.

"Adonis... A-Adonis, slow down. Please. You're talking so fast I can hardly understand you. Stop talking and just breathe deep and slow for me, okay? Five seconds in, five seconds out. You're not helping anything by panicking." This was probably the thirtieth time the man had called in the last three and a half hours. (Perhaps that was a bit of an exaggeration. But not much.)

After she'd heard Adonis take a couple cycles of slow breaths on his own after some coaching, Bess went on. "Look, we've got just about the whole Pack out there looking for Connie right now, okay? You don't need to be out there too. What you need to do is stay with Starla right now, yeah? Just make sure she's okay. Try to stay calm for her. Babies pick up on energy like you wouldn't believe; your anxiousness will just make her more fussy and upset on top of her fever. You handle Starry, and the rest of us will find Connie and get her home, I promise." Bess sank wearily into her fiancé's easy chair, running a hand over her face as she silently cursed. Of course, this had to happen on a day when Magda was sick and couldn't watch the baby.

"Hmm? ... Oh, no I haven't seen or heard from her yet, but I'll let you know the second I do, I swear. ... Yeah, I'm staying here at the flat in case she shows up."

The flat's intercom suddenly buzzed.

Bess' head snapped up and she lurched to her feet. "Hold on!" she exclaimed into the phone. "Someone just buzzed!"

Rushing to the intercom, Bess pressed the call button. The video screen flashed on and the most immediate sense of relief nearly bowled the twenty-six-year-old over as the image of her best friend and soul-sister, Constance DoGoode-Scrooge, filled the screen. She looked horrible: drenched, makeup ruined, hair limp and clinging to her, but she was there and okay.

"She just showed up, Adonis! I'm looking at her in our intercom cam right now! I'm buzzing her up--I'll let you get a hold of everyone and let them know." With that, Bess hung up and hit the button to unlock the front door of the building. "I'm coming down to meet you!" she exclaimed into the intercom. And then she was throwing open the flat door and rushing down the hall to the lift.

The ride seemed to take an eternity, but just when Bess was really considering how she should have taken the stairs and used it as an opportunity to master her banister-sliding techniques, the lift pinged her arrival at the lobby. Through the glass doors on the other side of the gilded lift gates, she could see her worse-for-wear and shivering soul-sister. The doors hardly had enough time to open before Bess was launching herself out of the lift and tackling Connie into the tightest hug. She couldn't have cared less if she got soaked too.

"Where in all holy heaven have you been?!" Bess breathed as she squeezed the older woman with all her might. For a brief second, the thought she might be hurting her friend flitted through her mind; then Connie was embracing her back just as hard and the inkling dissipated.

"I'm sorry!" was Connie's sobbed answer. "I'm sorry! I-I think I made a mistake, Bess! I made a terrible mistake!" Her body wracked in Bess' arms as she cried.

Bess could only hold her tighter. "I think I know what you think you did," she murmured. "And I don't think it's as bad as you think it is, Con."

Connie sniffled into her shoulder. "“Bess, I … m-may I come in?" she asked, voice small and meek, hardly above a squeak of a sound.

Pulling back just enough to meet her friend face-to-face as she gripped her shoulders, Bess offered a comforting smile to the redhead (who currently looked more brunette, her hair was so sodden). "Come on, then. Let's get you warmed up and dried off. Then we'll talk, yeah?"

~🍓🌅🍓🌅🍓🌅🍓🌅🍓🌅🍓🌅🍓🌅🍓🌅~

"Have you talked to Adonis?" Connie croaked. Through a hot shower and out of her soaked clothes, the forty-year-old was now snuggled into a warm, plush, purple robe of Bess' and curled up on a settle in front of the electric fireplace. A steaming bowl of her bestie's famous "gourmet oatmeal" was in her hands. It felt so soothing on her yet-chilly fingers and smelled and looked scrumptious being chock-full of berries, fruit chunks, nuts, heavy cream, brown sugar, a little drizzle of honey, and cinnamon, yet Connie had yet to take half a bite of it.

Bess sat across from her on the settle, her own bowl of oatmeal in her hands. "I have," she said evenly around a mouthful of blueberry and peach chunks.

"... Wh-What did he say?"

"Well... the gist of it was that you two had a little bit of a disagreement and you left."

"Did he sound... angry?" The fear in the ginger's voice was undeniable.

Bess looked over at her friend, even though Connie's gaze remained frozen on her steaming bowl. "He sounded worried," Bess stated quietly. "Beside himself, actually."

Connie let out a shaky exhale and closed her eyes, as if trying to fight back more tears. Slowly she set her bowl down on the coffee table then buried her face in her hands.

Setting down her own bowl, Bess scooted closer and laid a soft hand on her soul-sister's shoulder. "Constance, why don't you tell me your version?" she gently suggested.

"You've talked to Adonis already," Connie replied, voice muffled behind her hands.

"Yes, and he was demonizing and blaming himself the entire time for what happened."

Connie lifted her head and met Bess' eyes with her own wide in shock. "Why was he blaming himself?" she quivered, sounding almost horrified. "He didn't do anything wrong--it was me! All me! Y-You said he didn't sound mad, but he has to be mad!"

"You really think so?"

"Of course, he's mad! I can’t believe I hurt him like that! We're married! We're husband and wife! We're supposed to love each other, and I screamed at and shoved him and ran out instead of talking to him! After everything he’s done for me--oh, how could I be so cruel?!” Connie seemed to be ranting to herself, trying to convince herself of these perceived facts.

Bess couldn't help the little smirk that quirked up her mouth, nor the raised brow that usually accompanied it. "You're saying practically everything Adonis said about himself, ya know," she remarked.

Connie looked even more appalled at that. "But it was my fault," she insisted emphatically, practically pounding her hands on her chest.

Bess reached out and took those hands into her own. Bringing them back into her lap, she squeezed them tight. "Why don't we decide on that for sure after you tell me what happened?"

Connie drew her lips into a thin line, her chin quivering as her bright blue eyes began to shine with tears. She looked down, rather ashamedly. "W-We... had a fight," she whispered. "Not just a disagreement--a fight."

Bess gently pressed: "About?"

"Work. My work. O-Or... more so how I'm handling it. He says I'm focusing too much on it; I'm getting too wrapped up and obsessed with it."

"Well, you have been kinda making it your main priority ever since you went back to the office."

"He says I've been losing track of time, putting other things off till later."

"Yeah, I gotta say, that sounds about right."

Connie just dared to peek up under her eyelashes at Bess. "You've noticed that too?" she whispered.

Bess gave her a sad smile. "All of the girls have, babes. You haven't been making lunches that you said you would. We figured it was because of the baby, but every time we decided to bring lunch to you, you haven't been with Starry, you've been at work."

A tear dripped from Connie's eyelashes. "Sorry."

Bess rubbed her bestie's knuckles with her thumbs soothingly. "What other things have you been putting off, Connie?"

Connie's freckled cheeks burned with shame. "... W-Well... the other evening, we were going to give Starla a bath together. At... At least that was the plan."

"What happened?"

"Well... Well, Adonis left the office on time. I-I was still finishing up some figures, and I told him to go ahead, that I'd be along in just a minute after him. He didn't want to, he wanted to wait for me or for me to put if off until tomorrow, but you know how I hate putting things like that off when they can be done now. So I told him to go. I'd be just a minute more. I-I don't think he really believed me; he seemed kind of... fed up when he left. But it was just going to be a minute more before I left, I swear.""

"And was it just a minute more?"

Tears started spilling over Connie's eyelids again. She bit her lip as she shook her head, eyes screwing shut. "No," she rasped past a broken sob. "It was almost two hours before I finally left."

Bess gave her a sorrowful look. "Oh, Connie...."

Connie was sobbing again. "I don't know where the time went! One second Adonis had just shut the door and the next I look at the clock and it's two hours since he left! I rushed home as fast as I could! When I got there, Adonis was waiting for me in the dining room and dinner was on the table, cold. He waited for me, Bess."

Bess didn't tell her friend that of course he would; that Adonis had confessed before that dinner with his beloved Connie at the end of the day was one of his favorite things about their life together. That information would only hurt Connie more in the current moment. And it really was something that needed to come from Adonis' lips. "Was he angry?"

"I think he was done being angry at that point," Connie sniffled. "A little cross still, maybe, but mostly he just seemed... indifferent then. Which felt worse. He told me Starry was bathed, changed, fed, and already asleep, then he asked if he should warm up dinner." Connie wrenched her hands from Bess' grip and buried her face in them again. "Oh, Bess, he sounded so cold! He didn't say anything to me during dinner unless I asked something first, and then the answers were so short and clipped. He didn't look at me at all. I felt so frozen out, it was awful! I wasn't sure if he would come to bed with me. He did and he did tell me "I love you," but I couldn't feel the love in his voice like I usually do. And he still didn't say anything or kiss me good night; he pulled away from my touch and wouldn't cuddle. We always used to cuddle!"

"Have you not been cuddling even before that night?"

"... N-Not for a while, no. Not even morning cuddles, really."

"Because you're up and at the office working at the crack of dawn?"

"You know about that?"

"Adonis has called a few times asking for some help with bottling Starry when you haven't been there to feed her if she wakes up early."

"You must think I'm a horrible mother."

"I'm not quite sure what to think yet, if I'm being honest; just that all of this doesn't really seem like you. When did all these changes start happening?"

"... I-I think after I started back working?"

"All of this has ramped up pretty quick then, hasn't it? You've only been back at work for, what, three weeks? Four at the most? Connie."

"I know! I know! I don't know why they happened, but they did!"

Quiet fell for a moment, broken only by the sound of the storm outside and the sobbing of the redhead. The tea kettle started whistling, and Bess got up to tend to it. She came back with a soothing cup of green tea--Connie's favorite. She watched her friend sip in silence for a bit longer before speaking again.

"Connie," she began carefully, "what happened today that caused everything to spill over?

A little more calmed again by her tea, Connie set the drink aside and managed to meet Bess' gaze full-on--a least for the moment. "There were a few meetings at the office today," she answered, voice quiet and croaky. "It was fairly late when they were finished. Adonis said we should go out for a late lunch. I was in the middle of inputting some new data into the system and had packed a bite of something to eat with me when I left this morning; I wanted to get the logs done, so I told him to go on without me."

"Again."

"... Y-Yeah. Again. Adonis insisted my work could wait, but I pointed out that it didn't have to if I kept at it and got it done. He said that we needed a break. Between work and settling in with Starry, we haven't really had a chance to be just us for a little while, you know? He wanted us to just spend some time together, even just for lunch. I... I told him... that we could do that later."

Bess couldn't help but facepalm at that. "Ooohhhh, no..." she lowly groaned. Both of their men had a thing about "laters"; if a Scrooge twin could ever have a trigger, that was it.

"Adonis snapped at that. He slammed my laptop shut and then he swiped all of the ledgers and papers and notes I was working with off my desk and onto the floor. Then he started yelling at me, screaming about how he couldn't take it anymore, how he couldn't stand aside and watch me turn into something that I'm not, how I needed to stop and look at myself, at what I was doing and what I was missing out on. Bess, he told me I haven't been pulling my weight at home with Starry, that I'm neglecting my friends, that I hardly interact with him at all, that I don't act like the woman he married anymore!" Connie couldn't hold Bess' gaze anymore and screwed her eyes tightly shut as she hugged herself and curled into a tighter ball.

"What happened after that?" Bess gently prodded.

"I-I don't really know," Connie stated with a shake of her head. "He was screaming and yelling and throwing things into the trash and something inside me just... snapped. I felt so scared out of nowhere! Like... Like I used to feel with Orin!"

"Oh, Con, I'm so sorry."

"Adonis grabbed my laptop and started to throw it away but I grabbed him to try to stop him and he threw me off. I didn't get hurt, but I was still so terrified. When he turned towards me, I screamed at him to leave me alone and shoved him away. I know he wasn't going to hurt me--he would never hurt me--but in the moment I panicked. I shoved him so hard he stumbled back into my bookcase and everything came down on top of him. After that I ran. I just... just ran! I didn't stop to think about what I did or to see if he was all right--I just left my husband and ran!" Again, the ginger American broke into a fit of wails, once more burying her face in her hands.

Bess scooted closer and wrapped an arm around her soul-sister's shoulders, pulling her close to her side. She didn't say anything, but just sat there and rubbed the distraught woman's arm in silent comfort.

It was a few moments before Connie pulled herself together. "It... It wasn't until after I'd been running for a while that it finally occurred to me what I did," she rasped, voice a raw whisper behind her hands. "I'd done something wrong--so many things wrong--and when I was told off for it like I deserved, I'd retaliated and run from it like a stupid, cowardly girl, instead of owning up to it, like I needed to. I've ruined things. Oh, Bess, I've ruined everything! I just found the greatest happiness of my life, and now I'm about to lose it! Adonis, Starla--everything! All because I've been behaving like a child!" She started on the sobs again.

"Shhhh," Bess quieted her, wrapping both arms around her friend this time as she tucked her in close to her heart. "Shhh. I don't think so. I don't think you have to worry about any of that, Connie. Remember what I said about Adonis blaming and demonizing himself for what happened this afternoon when he talked to me? Honey, that man isn't angry at you--not for this. He loves you--adores you to the very core of his soul. And he's been so worried about you; not just today but for a while, and that's why he went off like he did today. It wasn't the right thing for him to do any more than what you did was the right thing to do. But sometimes, when we love someone so much and we see that they're struggling and refusing to ask for help, we get so worried for so long that the only thing we can seem to do to get them to listen is to snap and make a scene. Does that make sense?"

Through her cries, Connie made an assenting noise. Still, she continued to sob into her best friend's chest for a few more long minutes.

When she eventually quieted down again, she slowly pulled from Bess' grip and picked her tea back up. Shakily, she raised the cup to her lips and sipped again, trying to calm herself back down.

Bess watched her carefully, turning something over in her mind that she'd been considering for a while now. "Connie... you said you don't know why you've shifted your work-life balance so much, but I really think you do," she finally stated. It was blunt and sounded rather accusatory, but Bess couldn't find a way to say it with more finesse.

Connie looked at her in bleary, red-eyed bewilderment. "What?"

"Look, you're an amazing and hard worker, but I wouldn't call you a workaholic. You are a master at healthy prioritizing; criminey, you're the main person who helped me figure out a healthy work-life balance when I was finally getting too strung out to function, yeah? So, what is it with you suddenly becoming Mrs. 5-to-9-plus-overtime?"

Connie stared at her friend, an ashamed shadow settling over her face before she looked down into her teacup. Her lips pulled into a thin line.

Bess continued to gently dig: "I mean, I know some women, when they get back to work after maternity leave, tend to go overboard to prove that they can still do their job so that, maybe, they won't get laid off. But, Honey, your job is set in stone for you for as long as you want it. And you know that. So that can't be what it is."

"That's not what it is," Connie agreed.

"Okay. So?"

"Maybe I went back to work too soon."

"Well, I'll admit, you did start back a little sooner than I would have liked for you, but you know yourself on a level I don't. So I don't think that's it either."

"... Bess, if I told you, you'd despise me."

"I think I might have said that very phrase to you a few times in our history. Was I ever right about it?"

"This is different."

"How so?"

Silence.

"Connie. Connie, does it have anything to do with Starry?"

Connie's gaze just barely flickered over to Bess before returning to her tea.

"Connie, you can tell me anything, remember? Anything at all about anything."

"But this... this is so... oh, Bess, it's just so horrible!"

"Are they thoughts? Dark thoughts? About Starry?"

"... Y-Yes."

"Thoughts like... maybe about hurting her?"

Another choked sob as Connie shut her eyes against yet another swell of tears.

Bess put her hand on Connie's knee. "Con, talk to me. Please."

Connie shook her head, as if trying to will the whole situation away. "I was fine," she trembled. "I was fine for the first week or so. Then when she had that little bout of colic and just couldn't sleep or quiet down things... changed. I changed. I was pacing the floor one night, trying to get her to sleep, and she was just screaming and crying and upset and nothing I did could help her and it crossed my mind: I could just throw her out our bedroom window and it would stop."

"Oh, Connie...."

"And I knew the second after it crossed my mind that it was a terrible, horrible, wicked thing to think and I was horrified with myself."

"But you didn't do it."

"No. I didn't even take a second beyond it crossing my mind to consider it."

"That's good."

"But, Bess it was still there in my head--it still went through my mind--it was an actual thought I had! And then Ethel gave us that stuff to help her colic and Starry was better and happy. And I was fine for a while, except now I felt horrible for that evil thought and I felt like I failed because I hadn't been the one to help my own baby, Ethel had. And then another day I was changing Starry and she had a huge blowout all over me and the bed and a pile of clothes I'd just cleaned, and I got so mad for a second I... oh, Bess, I felt like hitting her. And I knew it was another evil thing to think, but it was still there in my head again!"

"And you felt terrible again."

"Horrible! Like the worst mother that's ever lived! And I just kept having these thoughts with every little challenge with her. I never actually considered acting any of them out, but I was still thinking about them. I feel like such a danger to her, even just when I'm in the same room with her!"

"So that's why you started back to work so early," Bess surmised. "So you wouldn't be spending as much time around her."

"I thought maybe, if I wasn't with her all the time, I might just be happy to be with her when I was and those thoughts would stop. But they haven't. So I keep spending more and more time working to try and make them stop. But then I feel even more like a terrible mother because a mother should spend as much time with her baby as she can, shouldn't she? And it's not that I don't want to do that--I do want to spend as much time as I can with her, more than anything. But I just can't do that!"

"Because you're afraid you'll hurt Starry."

"Exactly!" The near-frantic woman looked her friend's way, eyes desperate and almost pleading. "Bess, I-I feel crazy! Insane! I don't want to hurt my baby; she is amazing and beautiful and everything I could have wanted and hoped and dreamed for. But now, instead of thinking of the miracle that she is, all I can think about when I see her is how I've had and keep having those terrible thoughts about her and I feel so... unworthy and disgusting. I-I can't even bring myself to be affectionate with Adonis anymore because I feel so monstrous for the things I've thought about Starry. I-If he knew about the harm I've thought about doing to our precious, innocent little girl... he'd hate me. And leave me. And I wouldn't even blame him for it, because I would too, if I had the choice. What man would want to be with a woman who thinks these things about their child? What mother would think those things to begin with?"

Bess was quiet a moment, processing. Part of her was vindicated for the suspicions she'd been having for a while now being proved correct; a bigger part of her was just so sad for her soul-sister. Not for the first time in her life, Connie had been struggling in virtual silence for far too long, and no one had taken the time to really notice and reach out to help. Until now.

Taking the older woman's tepid tea away from her and setting it aside, Bess got down on the floor in front of Connie and looked up into her face. "Connie, do you remember that book I gave to you right after you announced your pregnancy?"

Connie nodded with a sniff.

"How far into it did you read?"

"Everything up until you leave the hospital."

"You haven't read anything else after that?"

"No. I-I've been meaning to but... finding spare time hasn't been much of a thing, obviously."

"Well, Honey, if you did, I think you'd find out that lots of mothers have those kinds of thoughts about their babies for a while. Those thoughts and worse. Connie, what you're describing is a symptom postpartum depression--"the baby blues"--and it's actually very common, especially in first-time mothers, and especially for mothers who had rough labors, both boxes that you tick."

"Baby blues? I thought that was just when you get sad and gloomy after having the baby because of all the hormones still in your system?"

"That's one symptom that can manifest, but the scary thoughts and the fear of being alone with your baby because you think you might hurt her? That's, unfortunately, part of it too. It's not nice or fun, but it's absolutely a thing that happens to lots of women."

"Really? These sorts of thoughts and feelings are normal?"

"Unfortunately. They're just basically intrusive thoughts on steroids with a real morbid personality. My mother had them a couple times. Hela struggled with it for a while, too, after she had Jenny. Ethel's gone through it a few times. Honey, you're not the only mama in the Pack, let alone the world, that's gone through this."

It was amazing how fast a spark of relief lit up in Connie's puffy eyes. "S-So... I-I'm not a danger to my baby?"

"Not as long as you're not seriously considering acting out the thoughts that go through your head."

Connie hastily shook her head. "No! No, never! I-I never do! As soon as they finish passing through my thoughts, I dismiss them immediately. I don't want to do them and I know they're wrong; I just can't seem to stop them from being thought up."

"Then I'd say that doesn't make you a danger to Starry. Not in my eyes. But I think all of this does make you a candidate for some serious therapy for a little while. Because you haven't exactly been handling this whole situation very well, have you?"

Connie looked a bit shamefaced again. "No," she confessed softly. "No, I haven't. Not at all. Even if I'm not necessarily a bad Mama for having those thoughts, I still haven't been a very good one, I know that. And I haven't been a very good friend for a while either. And I've been a horrible wife." She fell quiet a moment and looked into the electric flames of the fireplace.

Finally, she turned Bess again. "You... you don't think it's too late to... fix things... do you? You don't think I've pushed people too far away? You don't think Starry won't be able to bond with me? You don't think I've... I've hurt Adonis too badly?"

Both women giggled a bit at that, Connie's laugh sounding very teary but still a little amused.

Bess let a small smile curl the corners of her mouth as a soft snort escaped her. She sat back beside Connie and pulled her into another hug. "If there's one thing I know about this big ol' extended family of ours," she commented, "it's that we're all about forgiveness and second chances. It would take a lot more than some frustrating, pregnancy-hormone-induced lunacy for us to quit one of our own."

The young woman pulled back to hold her friend by the shoulders and meet her eyes again with a softer smile. "And if there's one thing I'm sure of with Adonis, it's that he loves you unconditionally. I swear, you could attack that dude with a bag of bricks with as much malicious intent as there is in the world, and he'd still forgive you, he's that crazy in love."

The intercom suddenly buzzed for the second time that evening, drawing the women's attention.

Bess smirked back at Connie. "That'll be the boys."

The anxiety creeped back onto Connie's face and she gulped. Still, she nodded her head with some determination. "Okay," she sighed. "Let's do it."

Bess gave her shoulder a squeeze and winked at her before going to the intercom to press the button. "Come on up."

The minutes of waiting for the boys' arrival was never ending, it seemed. Bess returned to her seat beside Connie and held her hands as they sat in silence. Whenever they exchanged glances, Bess smiled reassuringly at her friend and squeezed her fingers in support. It was all going to be okay.

Finally the door of the apartment practically flew open and in rushed a frantic and mildly damp Ebenezer Scrooge. His wild eyes landed on his robed wife. "Constance!"

Connie practically jumped her to her feet, tears already shining her eyes again. "Ebenezer!" she cried. She'd hardly taken two steps before her husband was upon her, pulling her into a crushing embrace. He was kissing her before she had a chance to speak.

Quietly slipping out of the vicinity of the pair, Bess retreated across the flat to join her fiancé, Ebenezar "Wolf" Scrooge where he stood shaking out his raincoat and hanging it on a hook beside the door. She returned his smile when he saw her coming and slipped under his outstretched arm and into his side to hold him tight. Her eyes drifted shut and she hummed in satisfaction as he bowed his head to kiss her. Unbelievable warmth seeped throughout her body and into the woman's very soul: Considering the evening that had just commenced, it was very much welcomed.

"How is she?" Wolf whispered when they'd parted lips, both of their gazes drifting to the couple by the fire. They were no longer locked in a kiss but were still wrapped up tight and gazing deep into each other's eyes as they shared urgent whispers. Adonis was gently drying Connie's tears with his thumb.

Bess sighed as she leaned her head on her man's shoulder. "She'll be okay," she answered softly. "I'm sure of it."

"Did you get to the bottom of the situation?"

"Yes, I think we did. I'll explain it to you later. Starry?"

"Addie and Tom are with her while we're here. I think her fever's broke."

"Good. One less stressor out of the equation for Connie right now."

"I thought you said she'll be all right?"

"She will be. She could just... use all the little breaks she can get right now."

Wolf chuckled and nudged Bess' face back to his with a finger under her chin. "Well, considering one of the breaks she has is you for a best friend," he remarked, touching his brow to Bess' and giving her a besotted smile, "I'd say she's well off." And with that, the Englishman kissed his young, American love again.

[quill-pen]

Personally, I hate Valentine's Day for a variety of reasons, but I know Bess likes it. So let's think about her today with...

💌Valentines Through the Eras; A Timeless Scroogeverse Reminiscing

💝George Era:

Bess loves Valentine's, but not when it comes to celebrating it in school. The kindergarten Valentine's Day party completely ruined that for her when all her classmates tore up and threw her Powerpuff Girl themed Valentine cards away while laughing in her face.

Then of course she opened her own to find them all defaced with graffiti insulting her. Barbie in scribbled on facial hair and stink-lines telling her she smelled. Bratz with huge freckles, declaring how ugly she was. My Little Pony characters saying they didn't want to be her friends. Power Rangers, Spider-Man, and TMNT all boasting altered messages about how dumb, gross, and weird she was, and wishing her a bad Valentine's.

Along with the Valentine's were crumbled cookies, broken and ruined toys, half-eaten, sticky candies. Her Valentine's box was defaced with scribbled artwork of a large, brown smudge, labelled as "pOOp", as if she couldn't guess what it was meant to be.

Bess went home in tears that day, ruined box and all its contents in hand to show her mother proof of how mean her class was to her. Bea never believed her when Bess reported bullying stories to her. She didn't believe Bess even with the evidence. Or if she did, she didn't care, just like always.

It wasn't until George came over that night to take Bea out for supper and saw Bess' puffy eyes, tear-stained face, and the box that Bess received any sort of comfort: a promise that they would get a Valentine's Day do-over tomorrow, just the two of them.

And he held true to that promise, picking her up early and taking the little girl out for a special breakfast of any-flavored, heart-shaped pancakes. He gave her a big Valentine in the shape of the stuffed horse she'd had her eye on for a long while. He took her to the zoo and to the children's museum where he played with her. He took her shopping to get whatever she wanted: a new Barbie and a couple Barbie playsets, one big and one small. He showered her with affection and words of affirmation, telling her how pretty, nice, smart, funny, sweet, etc. she was.

George let his little Mudpuppy know she was loved, special, and wanted. He let her know she mattered, and she deserved to be treated with kindness.

From that Valentine's on, George always made sure he was around to help Bess play hooky on the day of the class party and take her out on the town to treat her.

Bess never knew what happened to her Valentine's boxes or Valentine's afterward because they were always gone from the classroom the next day. But she didn't care. Valentine's Day dates with George were a million times better than anything she could have gotten from her classmates.

Eventually, unfortunately, due to many factors of life, those dates with George ground to a halt.

Of course, Bess was a bit sad, but she didn't mind all that much with little siblings to love on and receive love from in turn now as well as George.

And George always still managed to get her something and/or treat her to a meal.

But still, Bess wanted to have a tradition like those all-day Valentine's dates again with somebody. Maybe make them romantic this time around.

💝Oliver Era:

When Oliver came into the picture, Bess thought, for a very brief time, that this was something that could happen with him. After all, they were officially a couple. Even if it wasn't a full day of celebration, even just a nice evening dedicated solely to them and their relationship, would have been amazing.

Bess quickly learned better on that first Valentine's Day of their relationship.

Oliver took her to breakfast in the same greasy little cafe off campus that he always took her to when they decided to eat out for breakfast.

Bess had never been a particularly picky person when it came to food or where she ate, but this place never failed to turn her stomach sour with anything she ate there. Oliver knew that, but always insisted on them going there anyway: It was "his spot" where he knew everything, everyone, and had "never had a bad meal". Bess begged to differ.

Knowing making a fuss would only upset Oliver and put him in a terrible mood the rest of the day, Bess endured, thinking maybe she could just have some yogurt with fruit and a coffee (that she'd turn to syrup with sugar to try and choke it down).

Oliver immediately changed that plan by insisting her order for her. "It's Valentine's Day, after all," he pointed out. "Let me treat my little woman." His smile was probably meant to be sweet, but it felt belittling and mocking.

Bess knew she should have felt anything other than the dread she did.

Her stomach was already churning by the time the waiter walked away with their order, both at the thought of the food coming her way and the way Oliver had kept referring to her as his "little woman". But that was true, wasn't it? She was his girlfriend. Why did it make her skin crawl?

"You do have money with you, right?" Oliver asked expectantly.

"I thought you were treating me."

"I did. I drove you here and ordered for you. And I'll cover the tip if you want."

Bess sighed and rolled her eyes, but made no further comment. They'd hardly been together six months, and she was already exhausted and exasperated with this boy. But nothing was ever perfect, right? Every relationship had its ups and downs and flaws. This relationship just needed some work.

After a breakfast of burnt bacon, undercooked omelettes, and half-raw hashbrowns dripping with grease that smells like fish, Oliver took her to class, promising something extra special that night. For some reason, Bess didn't feel so enthusiastic. Her already lacking enthusiasm drops even lower when Oliver refused to kiss her goodbye: "People are watching, Specks."

Unsurprisingly, it was right for Bess to feel wary of the night's activities: Oliver's "extra special" night was just inviting her over to his dorm to have a movie night with his buddies.

The movies? A marathon of bad, Valentine's-themed b-movies. All of them horror--Bess' least favorite genre. She had to walk out about 15 minutes into the second film (a Valentine's rip-off of the Halloween franchise with more gratuitous debauchery and a Michael Meyers stand-in dressed like Cupid... who still wore the weird mask for some reason?). Oliver didn't even realize she left--none of the guys did.

Bess went home and ended Valentine's Day alone (Debbie was out with her boyfriend) with no flowers, treats, cards, or even so much as a Valentine's text from her boyfriend. She quietly cried herself to sleep from the disappointment.

The years went by with Oliver and Valentine's Days never got better. Even when Bess tried to make something out of the day, it ended up being a complete disaster as something was never right according to Oliver.

Eventually, Bess just gave up on her dream of ever having a romantic Valentine's Day. Or a romantic anything, honestly. Perhaps romance just wasn't in her cards; maybe she didn't get to be swept off her feet and treated like a queen. After all, no one gets everything they want. "But I hardly ever get anything I want."

Their last Valentine's Day together wasn't even acknowledged. Admittedly, Bess waited all day to see if Oliver would make any sort of comment about how she didn't get him something, as she always went out of her way to get him a little gift or treat for the holiday, even when he never did for her. He never did.

What he did do, however, was "complain" to her about how he'd kept getting handed Valentine's and secret notes from bridal party members and wedding guests from the wedding he'd been second shooter at all day. "I just couldn't believe it--all these total babes just handing over stuff like that to me! I mean, I was all like, 'Ladies, please! I'm a professional at work here. Not that I'm not flattered, but I gotta concentrate on my art here. I don't have time for hookups in the storage closet." "Also you're kinda, ya know, engaged." "Hmm? Oh, yeah, right, whatever."

Bess gave up any hopes of ever feeling happy or truly loved in this relationship.

💝Gal Pals Era:

The first Valentine's in London was rough. Not only was Bess far away from home and family (that she knew well), she was also working.

Being kept busy in the maternity ward did help take her mind off of things, however, and there were a few beautiful little babies born that night. So Bess couldn't claim the holiday as bad one. (Though she did have to talk a father down from naming his son 'Valentine' as the mother was too out of it after surgery to do it herself but had made it clear on previous visits that she did not want that to be the child's name.)

That second time around though, was a much different story.

By the second London's Valentine's Bess, Connie, Addie, and Gal had all found each other, and the 1843D girls had bonded together tighter than a Gordian knot. They were bound to make the most of that bond.

Undeterred by the lack of beaus in their lives, the girls took it upon themselves to turn their first Valentine's all together into a celebration to be remembered.

"A Galentine's!" Connie had exclaimed one morning out of the blue. She'd come running from the bathroom with toothbrush in hand and frothy, minty lips. "Let's have a Galentine's! We'll all dress up for each other and go out together!"

The idea was a perfect one, and plans were immediately put into play. Bookings were made, new outfits were purchased, and work shifts were made sure to be filled in.

The evening of, after spending the afternoon sequestered away in rooms at the Dowager Countess of Calloway's (better known as Granny FeFe's) townhouse, readying themselves, all four girls presented themselves to both FeFe and their beloved landlord and surrogate grandfather Michael Pippersnipe, making grand entrances down the grand staircase of the Dowager's front hall.

According to FeFe and Pippersnipe, they had never seen more beautiful young ladies in all of their long years.

It was clear to see, they were being anything but facetious.

London has never known such celebration of sisterhood until that night. All four girls ate and drank their fill, danced and sang to their heart's content, celebrated both themselves and each other.

"A toast!" Addie declared at some time in the night, dashing a champagne glass to the heavens as though it were a golden chalice claimed in victory. Perhaps it was far greater than that.

"A toast to the bonds of sisterhood and friendship! Such loves are often overlooked and underestimated to be lesser than most. But it's been made clear to me in this year of trials and tribulations, of ending the old and beginning the new, that sisterhood and friendship are some of the most powerful and wonderful bonds the world has to offer. After all, what is a friend? A single soul, dwelling in two bodies."

"Aristotle," Connie remarked with a soft smile.

Gal chortled: "'n' t'at's why she be t'e writer."

Smirking, Bess stood and raised her glass as she began reciting: "I'll be there for you when the rain starts to pour. I'll be there for you, like I've been there before. I'll be there for you, 'cuz you're there for me too."

She cast a goofy smile around the table. "The 'Friends' theme song."

The table broke into fits of giggles and good natured groans at that. And then everyone was raising their glasses in toast. "To sisterhood!" The sound of crystal glass clinking together tinkled out through the night.

A night made for lovers and romance taken over by the love and joy of found family.

It was truly a Valentine's never to be forgotten.

And I think we're going to stop it here because, I know me, and I know when I dive into the Wolf era it is likely to get long and graphic.😅. So we'll just wait on that, and keep this cute and wholesome for now!

@rom-e-o I will probably dive in at some point to actually turn Galentine's into a fleshed out ficlet at some point, so if you want to add ideas, go right ahead.☺️

[quill-pen]

@rom-e-o

Ahem!

So... the first time Wolf technically sees Bess'... nippular area in Timeless?

Tabloids.

Censored on the front but not inside and she is the centerfold.

By this point, even though Bess has started sleeping over and staying in his bed, the most naked Wolf has seen Bess is through the foggy, textured glass of the shower. He might've caught a glimpse of some butt or side-boob/under-boob before, but that's it. Much as he would like to see her, he doesn't try to peep.

So needless to say he is not at all happy with this turn of events.

And how did the tabloids get this pretty picture?

Snapped via telephoto lens from a different rooftop as she was early morning sunbathing on his balcony (kinda the only time she can without having to worry about burning).

Aren't the paparazzi just swell?😒

[quill-pen]

I saw a relationship TikTok, and got inspired, and churned this out. Enjoy, fellow Scroogians and Bess stans!

Rated T for some language, innuendo, and emotional abuse/manipulation.

Warnings: Barely edited. Let's walk on the wilder side!

Synopsis: A bachelor party is supposed to be a man's last night of freedom. At least, that's what society claims.

Freedom: A Timeless Scroogeverse ficlet

Bess bit down on her tongue to try and quell the torrent of annoyance bubbling up inside of her. She gripped her notepad so tightly her knuckles turned white. "Oliver, please?" she beseeched her fiancé for what must have been the fiftieth time in the last hour. "Can we try to focus on getting some wedding planning done right now? Even just the basics?" She tried to keep her tone even and non-accusatory, but still serious to let the young man know she was serious.

Olive seemed to have not heard her as he continued to focus solely on his game. "Oh-hooooo! Get rekt, bitch-ass!" He blew some rival player in half and leveled up. "Boo-yah! Sorry, babe, what were you saying?"

Bess was just about ready to grab the gaming system, the headphones, and the controller, and chuck the whole thing out the window, but then she would be sans all of it considering it was hers, so she refrained. "Oliver, honey, please!" Fifty-one. "Just give me fifteen minutes--even ten. Just to jot down some ideas for our wedding or get some dos and don'ts."

Oliver rolled his eyes as he released a heavy, long-suffering sigh. "I thought the wedding planning was all the girl's thing," he grumbled as he began to jump into another level.

"I mean, yeah, it's kinda turned into that, unfortunately. But I don't want it to be that way with us; we're both getting married, after all--it's both our wedding. We should both have a say." She sat in silence for a minute and waited to see if he would respond. None came. Typical. Bordering on desperation, Bess reached out, paused the game, and moved to stand in between Oliver and the screen. Then she grabbed the controller from his hands and sat it out of the way.

Oliver glared at her. "Hey!" he snapped. "What the hell, Specks--I'm playing! I'm going for the record of most kills in an hour!"

"And you can go back to that after we get some basics covered," Bess shot back, glowering right back at him. "We need at least six months to get stuff ready for the wedding, Oliver--we've put this off long enough. We need to have stuff decided by the end of February."

"Ugh! Fine! Anything to make you stop bitching and leave me alone!"

Bess felt a familiar twinge in her soul at those words and for a moment her resolve wavered. But she stayed. "Have you decided what color you want?

"Sure. Green."

The girl gave him a flat look. "Really?"

Oliver gave her a questioning look. "What? What's wrong with green."

"Nothing. Except I know your favorite shade of green and considering my color is yellow, we might as well just have John Deere decorate the entire thing for us."

Oliver's eyes sparked with an idea. "Hey, you think maybe-"

"No, I don't think they'd actually do it. Not that it matters because it wouldn't happen on my watch anyway."

Oliver crossed his arms stubbornly and stuck his nose in the air. "Well, if I can't have my green, you can't have yellow."

Bess shrugged. "Fine. We'll go secondary colors. Mine's lavender."

"Camo."

"We're not having camo for a wedding color."

"Why not?"

"A) It's not a color--it's a pattern. B) You don't even like the cool-looking camo--you like the ugly, realistic type hunters wear. C) If we have camo at our wedding, you and your buddies are gonna be making invisibility jokes the whole ceremony and reception, and I'm gonna wanna bash your heads in for it."

"Aw, come on, Specks. Just think about it: Me in a camo tux and my best man looking around all confused and going, "Who's she supposed to be marrying?" It would get so many laughs! Classic!"

"Ha-ha, yeah, no--you're not getting camo. Pick a color."

"Fine. Brown."

"Okay. Lavender and brown--those are nice, we can totally work with them."

Oliver sighed. "Great," he grumbled. "We got the colors figured. Can I play my game now?"

"It's my game because I bought it with my money, and no, not just yet. We still need to decide on our parties."

"What's there to decide? We're havin' 'em. Ain't nothin' gonna stop me from getting my bachelor party, I'll tell ya that right now."

"Fair enough."

Oliver snorted in superiority. "Hmph! Like I was 'bout to be cheated outta my strippers--yeah, right."

Bess paused in her notetaking. An uncomfortable sensation settled in the pit of her stomach like a boulder and refused to leave. "S-St-Strippers?" she just barely managed to croak out. She continued to stare at her notepad, unable to find the strength to look up at her fiancé. She felt her cheeks flush with heat.

"Of course," Oliver answered unashamedly, dismissively. "What else would you have at a bachelor party?"

Bess gnawed on her bottom lip, anxiously tapping the tip of her pencil against the notepad. "Uh--ahem!--a-are you s-sure you want strippers?" she asked, her voice sounding meek, small, and pathetic. Fitting--she felt pathetic.

Oliver threw back his head in a biting laugh at that question. "Specks, that's what a bachelor party's for! That's the only thing it's for! Why have one otherwise if you can't hire hot babes to get naked and grind on your lap? It'd be a waste of money! Besides, strippers at bachelor parties are tradition, and you know how I am about tradition."

Bess finally lifted her head just enough to peek out at the boy from underneath her hair. "You think traditions are stupid and meaningless," she pointed out quietly.

Oliver's eyes widened a bit and his face flushed; he'd been caught out. "Ahem! Well... I-I've changed my mind." His momentary flummoxing faded away and he looked confident and cocky again. "I mean, I am an engaged man after all--I'm growing." He reached around Bess and grabbed up the controller again. "Now, can we be done, Specks? Racing the clock for my record-breaking moment here." He grabbed Bess by the arm and rather forcefully pulled her out of the way of the computer. For added measure, he gave her a rather hard swat on the rump to send her on her way. "Love ya, babe. Mind makin' me a snack?"

Bess staggered a few steps away with a yelp. She reached around to rub her stinging buttock, and stood there a moment in a daze, still processing the conversation. Then she turned back to her fiancé. "O-Oliver?" she stammered voice still quieter than she would have liked. "Ollie... I-I think we need to talk more. A-About this stripper thing?"

"You volunteering to find some good strippers for me?" Oliver asked over his shoulder. He was already back to sprinting through the map to locate his next target. "'Cuz otherwise, I gotta rely on Mack and the guys, and you and I both know he's kinda an idiot for stuff like this and might get duped into hiring some fat, old, slobby wannabes looking to make a quick buck through Craig's List or some shit. I don't want wannabes--I want real, professional strippers."

Bess stared at him for a long moment, not quite believing what she was hearing. Oliver had never been particularly empathetic or even that great of a guy, but to ask her--his betrothed--to "find him some good strippers" for his bachelor party? This seemed like an entirely new layer of scummy Bess had yet to encounter. "I..." Bess began, then stopped. She tried to think of what to say: She wasn't always the greatest at putting her feelings into words Oliver could understand. "Oliver... I don't like the idea of strippers."

"That's okay. You don't have to watch them."

"Oliver, me watching them is not the problem; you watching them is what I don't like."

Oliver paused his game and swiveled around to look at his fiancée. "That right?" he asked, a certain edge to his voice.

Bess felt her anxiety spike with that tone. "I-It makes me uncomfortable," she stuttered, gripping her notepad tight and close to her chest, almost as if it were a shield. "The idea of you watching and getting rubbed on by naked women that aren't me... it feels... gross."

Oliver looked her up and down, his face unfathomable. That just made Bess more nervous. "Okay," he said after a moment with a non-committal shrug. "So, I'll tell the girls they can't get naked and rub up on me."

Bess shook her head. "That's not really the point--naked or scantily clad, I don't like the idea of you interacting with other women in any kind of sexual manner. It makes me feel... disrespected."

Oliver was tensely quiet for a minute. "So... what else do you think I should do instead?" he pressed, an angry bit to his voice. "If you're too insecure to trust me around other women?"

Bess felt tears sting her eyes at that accusation. "Ollie, I do trust you-"(at least she tried her best to)"-I just don't see why you need attention like that from any other women but me. I don't need it from any other guys but you." The girl prayed her fiancé would see her case; the idea of going on much longer with this conversation was a nightmare.

"I don't need it," Oliver corrected her. "I want it."

That doesn't make it better. "But why?"

"Because I'm a dude, Specks: I like it. Besides, don't I deserve to be treated real good on my last night of freedom?"

Bess was at a loss as to what to say to that. "I-I-I-"

"Look, babe, just because you're not as hot as a stripper doesn't mean you gotta worry me being snatched away by one of 'em okay?" Oliver's voice was infuriatingly patronizing. "After all, everyone knows you don't get caught up with a nine or ten. The fours through sixes are the marriage material girls." The boy had the audacity to wink up at her with a smirk. "And I've got my cute little five picked," he stated. "Ain't nothin' changing that."

Bess had never felt more disgusted. Or disgusting. She knew, objectively, she didn't rank above average in attractiveness and, even then, wasn't on the higher end of average either. But to learn that her own fiancé--the man she was about to marry and spend the rest of her life with--didn't even find her above average subjectively? The girl felt as gutted as a dead fish.

"O-Oliver... please..." she tried to continue, trying to hide her heartbreak and humiliation, "... I really don't think-"

"Oh, my god!" Oliver suddenly erupted, his face going dark. "It's not that big a deal--just let it go, Bess! Shit, you can be so controlling, ya know that? It's not my problem you feel like a fugly cow and can't handle other girls giving me attention!"

Bess stepped back in wide-eyed surprise. Oliver had never snapped at her quite like that before! A slight sting burning in her eyes, the dark-haired girl shook her head and started pleading: "O-Ollie, p-please-"

"It's my last night of freedom before I get stuck with you for the rest of my life--it's not gonna hurt anything to just let me have this one thing for one night. It's not like I'm gonna have it ever again! Jesus--Mom warned me about you being a bridezilla: Can't believe she was right! How fucking entitled are you to think you have any say in how I spend my last night of freedom?"

"You're right!" Bess suddenly blurted, desperate to get him to calm down. His yelling was quickly turning her nerves raw. "Y-You're completely right. I don't have any right to tell you how to plan your bachelor party or any say in what you do for it. It's your special night, and you deserve to be treated... y-you deserve to be treated."

The thundercloud that had quickly arisen in Oliver's eyes just as quickly evaporated away. He smiled rather triumphantly. Even smugly. "Glad you're finally seeing reason, Specks," he crooned. "I was afraid we were gonna have to call everything off. I'm not about to be stuck in a toxic relationship like some lame-ass chump. Love ya and everything, babe, but Oliver Sprague ain't no fucking simp!" He spun back around to start up his game again. "Now I need some peace and quiet, babe. Still got time to beat the record if I move fast enough!"

Left in a welling, dizzying pool of emotions, Bess simply turned to leave without a word, shutting the door behind her. Then, before she knew it, she was running, sprinting down the hall to the bathroom. With no time to lift the toilet lid, she lunged for the tub and spewed into it violently, painting the slick, off-white surface with partially digested food. She heaved over and over again until her stomach decided it was empty enough and wouldn't send anything else up.

Coughing and panting, tears and snot streaming down her face, Bess fumbled with one hand towards the faucet and turned the water on full bore. She changed to the shower setting to wash her puke down the drain. Then, exhausted and overwhelmed with emotions, the young woman collapsed against the side of the tub and sobbed. "I can't do this! I can't do this! I can't do this! I can't do this!"

Bess had never felt more trapped than while hearing her fiancé talk about his last night of freedom.

Bess stopped at the bottom of the steps to, once again, check the contents of the basket over her arm. For a brief moment, she feared she forgot the mustard, but, after double checking underneath a stack of napkins she thought she might have placed over the jar, she was reassured she hadn't and that everything was in its place. Whistling a little tune to herself, the woman mounted the steps and entered the two-story, Victorian-age, brick bank. The electronic tone announcing her arrival chimed throughout the floor.

"Be with you in just a moment!" a female, American voice called out.

Bess smiled as she turned her attention to the desk tucked behind a partition to her right. Behind the half-wall, sat a familiar copper-colored bun skewered with a pair of pencils in front of a computer monitor. "Hey," Bess greeted as she approached the desk. "Anybody order lunch?" She sat the basket on the desk and beamed ear to ear as that copper ponytail and the woman it was attached to rocketed around in her swivel chair to face her. "Hey, Con."

Her former housemate and best friend, Constance DoGoode (soon to be Scrooge) grinned back at her. "Did you say 'lunch'?" she asked.

Giggling, Bess reached in and pulled out a wax-paper-wrapped bundle. "Know anybody around here who likes toasted bagel sandwiches with salmon, avocado, arugula, cheddar, pickles, and tomato?"

Connie was immediately reaching for the paper-wrapped sandwich. "Oh, my goodness, I love you!" she exclaimed. "I'm famished! You'd be surprised how hungry inputting and adding up numbers can make you!"

"I have a feeling it'd just piss me off," Bess snorted as she watched her sister figure rip off the wax paper and chomp with a crunch into her sandwich. A little wave of anxious anticipation twinged through her. "How is it?"

Eyes closed, Connie raised a hand and slowly chewed her bite of sandwich. Finally, she swallowed. "This..." she began, slowly looking up at her friend with a bright grin, "... has got to be the best thing you've ever put together, Bess!" She dove back in for another bite. "Oh my god--so good!"

Relief washed over the dark-haired woman. "I tried something a little different this time. Gal asked me to help her come up with some new condiments and sauces for the cafe and pub. I decided to try a peppercorn mayo and I used it on your sandwich. What do you think? Any good?"

"Amazing!" Connie exclaimed around a mouthful of sandwich. "It adds the perfect little zing to everything; just the right amount of heat."

Bess beamed. "Good. Oh, and there's this." She reached again into the basket and pulled out a brown lunch sack. "There's some dessert in here, and a couple jalapeño poppers leftover from what I made for dinner last night with Wolf and Carl. And..." she reached in again and brought forth a little thermos decorated in cute, smiling cartoon suns and sunflowers, "... some pink lemonade that Mr. Cobblebottom brought over this morning." She sat both the thermos and sack down and pushed them towards Connie.

The redhead smiled up at her. "You're the greatest, ya know?" she remarked affectionately. "An absolute gem. Have I told you that lately?"

Bess smirked mischievously. "You could stand to mention it more," she teased with a playful wink. She turned her head in the direction of the back-office space and found it was empty. "The boys?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow at Connie.

Connie quirked an eyebrow towards the ceiling in indication. "Surprise business meeting."

There was suddenly a sound like the scraping of chairs on floors and the clattering of footsteps overhead.

"Sounds like they're done," Connie stated. "Right on time."

Bess turned her attention to the small stairwell on the left side of the room to see a group of people she recognized as the Scrooges' business associates and didn't know by name, come streaming out. Out with them came Bob, Ebenezer, and Ebenezar. The men were all still talking to one another, relaying their last opinions about whatever they'd been discussing, settling plans, and recounting short anecdotes.

A particularly short, round little man with a purple-red complexion and a walrus mustache was monopolizing Bess' dear Ebenezar's--or Wolf's--attention. "Listen, Benny-boy," he was saying, his voice a bit louder and more boisterous than the others, "all I'm saying is I've known you and your brother a long time--practically since you started in this business when old Marley hired you boys. I found out about your brother's wedding too late to put forth my candidacy to be the Best Man, but I'm not too late to do it for your wedding."

Wolf was looking rather annoyed (accurate, considering he hated anyone but those closest to him to refer to him as "Benny-boy"--and even then, he only liked to hear it from Magda) and uncomfortable. "That's most generous of you, Mr. Tittersmyth," he replied, trying to be as polite as possible. "But my brother is going to fill that roll."

Mr. Tittersmyth wasn't giving up. "Wait, wait--I haven't finished yet," he stated, completely unfazed. "As your best man, I'll make sure you get to have as much say in your wedding preparations as possible; because I'll be honest with you, my boy, women? You have to do battle to wrest any sort of control from them when it comes to a wedding! Otherwise, you're going to end up with a frilly, frou-frouy, powderpuff wedding that focuses solely on your bride, and you're just standing there beside her like a well-dressed doorstop. The very idea of a wedding--of a marriage--caters almost exclusively to the feminine sensibilities. We men have to fight for our voices to be heard or risk losing our very identity! Trust me, I know. Happened at my first two weddings; Everything was what my brides wanted--I was lucky to choose what color I wanted, and even then, I was given options to pick from. I don't know why neither of them liked my first choice: Pea green goes quite well with magenta and lilac, wouldn't you say so, Ben?"

Wolf looked at a complete loss for words. He began to flicker his gaze around the room to find something--anything--to use as a life-preserver in this sinking conversation. Instantly, his eyes fell on Bess. Immediately the banker lit up like a supernova, his fake smile turning into a genuine grin, his eyes softening with adoration and sparkling with joy. "Bess! My beautiful, wonderful darling!" he practically laughed. He strode towards her, looking like he was trying very hard to not break into a run to get away from Mr. Tittersmyth. In just a few strides of his long legs, the man was sweeping the woman up into his embrace and kissing her fully, unabashedly, somewhat gratefully.

Bess squeaked in some alarm at the sudden onslaught of blatant affection with such a professional audience in the room, but then she much too easily sunk into it. Her insides liquified to mush that bubbled and tickled in the most delightful way. She held her man's jaw in her hands to keep him close and let her eyes drift shut as she angled deeper into the kiss. The Yank felt breathless and lighter than air.

"Well, golly," Bess giggled when they finally broke the lip-lock. "What a welcome. Do you greet everyone who shows up in your office like that?"

"If this business deal goes off as planned," one of the associates stated with a chuckle, "I'll greet all of you boys like that next time I come in here." She sent a wry smirk Ebenezer's and Bob's way. A wink followed.

Bob blinked at the woman before turning to Ebenezer. "I feel like there's a threat in there somewhere," he stated only half-jokingly.

Ebenezer laughed awkwardly. He laid a hand on Bob's shoulder and gently ushered him away from the woman.

"What are you doing here, Brightness?" Wolf inquired, quirking a bushy brow. "I wasn't expecting you."

Bess shrugged within his arms. "Well, this morning, when you mentioned we probably wouldn't be able to go out for lunch because of all the work you had to get done, and that you probably wouldn't be going out for a lunch break at all, I decided I'd bring lunch to all of you."

"Isn't she just the greatest?" Connie chirped from behind her desk. She was never one to let a moment of praise for her loved ones slip by.

Wolf's eyes softened to a heartbreaking degree as he gazed upon the woman in his arms. "Yes," he agreed, speaking just loudly enough for his fiancée to hear. "The greatest, most amazing, most spectacular woman."

Bess blushed.

"Bess, you didn't have to do this," Ebenezer stated with an affectionate smile.

The dark-haired woman shrugged. "I know," she stated. "But it's no biggie. I'm off shift today and had the time. Besides, I enjoy cooking and making sure my people are taken care of." She smiled adoringly up at her fiancé who, in turn, bowed his head and touched his brow to hers. She bit back another girlish giggle.

"How utterly... traditional and domestic," the female associate replied. It was probably meant as a compliment, but the way she said it with such apparent disgust made it hard to take in a positive way. "I should go--my driver's waiting. I'll see you boys next time." She shook hands with Ebenezer and Bob (as well as rather coyly straightening his lapels and picking a piece of lint off his shoulder with rather suggestive finger movements) but bypassed Wolf altogether. For a second, she paused in front of the embracing couple as if in contemplation, then, with a look of distaste, moved on out the door.

The other associates slowly filtered out after her, all saying goodbye to the boys and the girls as well. A few slapped both Scrooge twins on the back with quiet little remarks along the lines of "You lucky fools," as they unashamedly ogled the women. Eventually, the only associate left in the room with the group of friends was old Mr. Tittersmyth. The stocky little man--a good two to three inches shorter than both Connie and Bess--approached the Wolves, his beady little eyes trained solely on Bess.

Seeing a hunger in his gaze, Bess shifted closer to her beloved, feeling even safer when his grip on her tightened and he moved a bit to stand between her and the man. Her grip on Wolf's waistcoat tightened as she pressed into his side.

"Well, well, well," Mr. Tittersmyth chuckled. "I've seen her pictures in the news, but are you going to finally introduce me to your pretty little vixen, Ben old boy?" The little businessman rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, looking much too eager for either Bess or Wolf's tastes.

The couple exchanged a look. Wolf was uncertain, as he didn't want to introduce his bride-to-be to such a lecher as he knew Mr. Tittersmyth to be. However, as lecherous as he could be, Tittersmyth was most definitely an important cog in the London business world and could either make future business proceedings and philanthropic ventures easier for the Scrooges, or much, much harder depending on if they pleased or displeased him; Tittersmyth was known to be excessively petty. Of course, despite all that, Bess' comfort and desires were the number one concern for Wolf, how ever Tittersmyth might end up feeling.

Picking up on her fiancé's silent inquiry, Bess smiled and nodded. Not that it didn't make her skin crawl, but she could make acquaintance with the old man. For the future her future husband and brother-in-law wanted, she could play nice with an old creep.

Wolf returned her small smile and nodded back. "Mr. Tittersmyth," he sighed, trying not to sound reluctant as he looked back at his associate, "this is my fiancée--Bess Sullivan."

"Bess," Tittersmyth repeated, his voice low and growly. He seemed to taste and savor her name, enunciating slowly and dragging out the 's' as though he were a snake. "What a lovely name."

Bess shivered. "Thank you," she replied quietly. Somehow, she managed to keep a smile on her face.

Wolf's fingers on her waist tightened. "Bess, Darling," he continued on, voice sounding a bit strained as he tried to keep civil, "this is an old associate of the business, Mr. Richard Tittersmyth."

"A pleasure," Tittersmyth said, extending a hand toward Bess. "You may call me 'Dick', Love." He gripped the woman's hand tightly when she placed it in his.

"That's kind," Bess returned as politely as she could. Her stomach lurched when she recognized that the man was going in to kiss her knuckles and wrenched her hand from his grip. "But I'm afraid I'm not comfortable with that, seeing as we just met, Mr. Tittersmyth."

Tittersmyth didn't seem a bit put out or fazed. Instead, his gaze grew darker as he leered again up at Bess, and he chuckled. "Feisty young thing," he remarked, folding his hands behind his back. "Knows her mind, I think." He took a step closer, angling to move around Wolf and get closer to Bess.

"That she does," Ebenezer cut in. He stepped in between Tittersmyth and his brother, as his twin--while pulling Bess further behind him--had now dropped his congenial mask and looked like he wanted to reach out to knock the fat little encroacher clean off his feet. "Bess is quite a self-assured woman of conviction."

"Ah, all the more reason to have me as your best man, wouldn't you say, Benny-boy?" Tittersmyth chuckled looking around one brother to the next. "I can make sure this pretty thing doesn't run roughshod over you with the planning." A sly smirk curled the man's lips, making his walrus mustache arch into grin. "And, uh, should it happen that your little woman needs some... extra entertainment-" he winked up at the tall billionaire rather conspiratorially, "-I'd be more than obliged to offer my assistance."

Bess felt both offended and nauseous at once. Bob spluttered on another thermos of lemonade he'd snuck over to take from the basket. Connie made a disgusted exclamation before clamping a hand over her ruby red lips. Ebenezer went white and glanced back over his shoulder at his brother.

Wolf looked borderline murderous, face red with that infamous vein popping and pulsing along his temple, jaw clenched so tight his teeth grinded, mouth and eyes drawn narrowly, hands clenching tight into a fist and onto Bess. He actually snarled, but only loud enough for both his brother and Bess to hear. The man made to move towards the little cad, but the tightening of his fiancée's grip and the shifting of his brother to stand even more in between Tittersmyth and himself stopped him. "I've been in the saunas with you, Tittersmyth," Wolf spat. "The only way you could possibly entertain Bess would be in the comic sense. Otherwise you would be of very pitiful and little assistance."

Bess bit her lip and shoved her face into Wolf's side to try and fight back the laughter that response threatened to summon from deep inside her. Connie snorted a bit, herself, and quickly swiveled around to face her computer to hide her goofy face.

Tittersmyth didn't even blink. He launched immediately into raucous laughter, grabbing at his round, jiggling belly. "HAAAAhahahaha! Oh, Ben! Good old Benny-boy! You always were the best one for wit and jokes." The little man, met Bess' eyes as she peeked out from her man's side and winked at her as he jutted a finger towards Wolf. "He's always liked to tease me, this one," he stated with a wide grin. "He can cut to the quick with it sometimes, but I know he's fond of me. Aren't you, Benny-boy?"

"As fond as two like magnetic poles."

That just made Tittersmyth laugh harder. "What a laugh you are, Ben!" he exclaimed as he slipped his hat on and turned to leave. "What a laugh!"

He was about to walk out the door when he paused and turned back to the group. "Just saying, Ben," he said, a singsong in his voice, "have me as your best man, and I'll get you the best exotic dancers for your stag."

If it were possible, Wolf's face flushed even darker red as his whole body went rigid. "Leave. This. Instant!" he barked savagely.

Tittersmyth did not drop his jovial smile. "Just keep it in mind, my boy." And with that, the codger finally left, whistling jauntily as he went.

The tension finally eased out of the air as Tittersmyth faded from view.

Sighing heavily in weariness, Wolf relaxed in Bess' grip and turned his full attention back to her. "I'm so sorry you were subjected to that... indecorous manner, Brightness," he murmured regretfully. The man lifted a large hand and gently brushed a curl of hair from his lover's face before stroking the backs of his fingers along her jawline as she gazed up at him. He felt the anger and irritation melt away as he gazed into those velvety, midnight eyes of hers. "I was hoping to prepare you a bit more for your first meeting with Tittersmyth, instead of having him thrust upon you like today."

Bess smiled reassuringly up at him. Standing up on tip-toe, she cupped his jaw in her hands and pressed a soft kiss to his cheekbone. "It's okay," she assured him, nuzzling the kiss in. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't know I was coming to try and warn me away."

Wolf hugged her tighter. "I am happy you came, though," he whispered as he nuzzled her back. "I'm happy you're here." A kiss was pressed tenderly to her brow.

Bess giggled and gently pulled away from him and out of his grip, grabbing his large hands in hers as she did. "Well, you'll be even happier when you see the lunch I brought you. No working on empty tummies today, boys. There's plenty for everyone." She led her fiancé to the basket sitting on the desk that the other two men and Connie were back to investigating.

The next hour or so was filled with warm laughter and camaraderie as the group took up chairs and lunched together, both ladies opting to take seats in their respective fiancés' laps. The men quickly filled the women in on what the meeting had been about, then spent the rest of the time chattering and laughing about the bank's associates. (Tittersmyth, of course, was a particular target for mockery.) The bank was filled with good vibes and cheer.

Even so, as Bess sat in Wolf's lap, laughing with the others and teasing him by snitching off his food and drink, she felt a familiar sensation niggling deep in her stomach--one she hadn't felt for a long time. Tittersmyth's comment about exotic dancers kept playing through her head: No matter how hard she tried to push it down and forget about it, she simply couldn't. And that was what brought back the old feelings of disgust, anxiety, and inadequacy. She was starting to feel exactly as she had when she'd been engaged to Oliver. And no matter how hard Bess tried to reassure herself that her amazing Wolf was nothing like Oliver Sprague, the feelings simply would not leave her in peace.

Bess sat at the dining room table in Wolf's penthouse flat. The beautiful mahogany table had, yet again, been turned into a wedding planning station, just as it had every other night since they'd gotten engaged. While initially intimidated by the process as her first attempt with it had been a complete nightmare (ending in a bad breakup), the woman had quickly come to enjoy the process. There was something incredibly satisfying and confidence-boosting about making and solidifying wedding plans. And when you actually had a partner that could be mature about it and actually wanted to participate in the process, it could even be fun. Bess had actually started to become excited for the planning sessions.

But not tonight.

Tonight, Bess' mind was racing to the point she felt sick. She was still thinking about Tittersmyth and his parting comment. She was still about exotic dancers and stag parties. Her fingers drummed out a nervous beat on the table while her feet tapped rapidly to keep up.

She tried to calm herself with the facts of the scene. Wolf had seemed extremely angry with that comment and had insisted Tittersmyth leave; even so, Bess' proclivity to overthink and be anxious refused to take comfort in that knowledge. What if he'd just gotten upset because Tittersmyth had mentioned the topic in front of her? Could it be possible Wolf actually wanted strippers for his stag? Pre-marriage parties and strippers seemed to go hand-in-hand--like it was some rite of passage or something. Bess had made it clear to her girls early on she was not into that scene: She wasn't the sort of woman that wanted to watch some random man strip down and give her a lap dance. She'd also thought Wolf wasn't that kind of man, but could she have been wrong? It was his stag party--his last night of freedom after all. It was a bit different than just going to a club some random night in the week to watch women get naked and ride poles: A stag was a special celebration for a man. Was it really that big a deal to celebrate with a naked woman who wasn't her so long as there was no funny business?

Bess didn't know how to answer that, she just knew it made her feel sicker than ever. Sicker even than when she'd gone through this fiasco with Oliver.

A hand suddenly gripped onto her shoulder, ripping the American from her thoughts and causing her to scream in alarm. She tried to whirl around to face whoever grabbed her, but she upset her chair in the process and toppled over. "Yipe!"

"Bess!" Wolf exclaimed. He quickly bent over her to help pick her up off the floor, concern etched in deep lines on his face. "Oh, Darling, are you all right? I'm so sorry, Brightness; I didn't mean to frighten you! Had I realized you were zoned out instead of merely focusing, I would have been gentler."

Still trying to calm her racing heart, Bess did her best to smile at her fiancé and brush off the situation. "No, it's okay," she assured him, rubbing her backside with only a slight grimace. "Zoning out, focusing--I look pretty much the same either way. And I had all the wedding stuff out, so it made sense you thought I was just focused. Oof! That's gonna bruise though."

Wolf gave her a sorrowful look. "I'm so sorry, Moonlight," he repeated gently. "Let me get you an icepack." He moved into the kitchen and dug into the freezer. "So, what was it?" he called over his shoulder.

"What was what?" Bess returned as she sat her chair upright and picked up a few papers that had scattered.

"What was it you were thinking so hard on that you zoned out?"

Bess' stomach twisted in anxiousness. She wasn't sure she was ready to have this conversation. "Oh... ya know. Things. Wedding business."

"I see," Wolf replied, folding the icepack up in a soft towel. "Wedding business." He sounded a bit skeptical. Coming back to the woman, he handed her the pack and watched quietly as she sat back down and settled the ice over her sore elbow. Then he gently pressed: "Could this be the same wedding business you were thinking about when you left the bank today?"

Bess looked up at him, hoping her surprise didn't show on her face. Really, it was uncanny how this man could read and understand her so easily. The only other man that had ever been able to do that was her stepfather. "Why do you think I was thinking of anything then?" she tried to avoid the question, attempting another smile.

Wolf wasn't convinced. "Oh, I don't know," he drawled. He grabbed another chair and drew it closer to sit beside his love. He straddled it and crossed his lanky arms over the top of the back before resting his chin on his forearms. The man gazed closely at the woman. "Maybe because you had that thousand-metre stare you only get when you're brain goes into overdrive and can't stop racing. Maybe because you grew steadily quieter during lunch and had to have things repeated more than once to you before you processed them. Maybe because you didn't answer Connie's "See you later, alligator". Maybe because my bloody brother made a ghastly pun and you didn't even snort."

Bess went silent, unable to think of any sort of explanation to give the man. She felt the color drain from her face as her guts knotted and unknotted continuously. Damn his intuition! But also bless it.

Wolf smiled empathetically and stood to move around his chair and kneel beside hers. Taking one of her hands in one of his, he covered the back of it from her fingertips to her wrist in kisses before holding it against his chest. He gazed up into her eyes, the slate-blue of his warm and liquid. "What is it, Brightness?" he whispered. "You can tell me anything--you know that."

Bess managed a tiny smile. "I know that," she said. She reached up with her free hand to cup the man's sculpted chin in her palm. She gently scruffed her fingers in his muttonchops. "You make me feel so safe, Moonsong."

Wolf chuckled warmly and let his free hand reach up to place atop hers and flatten it closer to his face. Turning into her hand, he kissed the wrist, heel, and palm before turning back to her fully again. "You are safe," he assured her, stroking both of her hands with his thumbs. "I promise you. You will always be safe with me, Bess--you understand that?"

Bess nodded as she felt the sting of tears in her eyes. In an attempt to control them, she screwed her eyes shut and leaned in to plant a kiss along her beloved's hairline before touching her brow to his and breathing deeply. Even in her present anxiousness, the Yank had never felt so safe and loved.

Wolf held steady, allowing his love a moment to collect herself and use him as the rock to anchor herself to do so. "Was it Tittersmyth?" he inquired quietly when Bess wasn't pressing so hard against him.

Bess sighed, not pulling away from the contact yet. "Yeah," she rasped, voice a little shaky. "But... not in the way you might think." Finally, the woman pulled away from her fiancé and gave him a somewhat sheepish look.

Wolf scowled and let his gaze fall dramatically away from Bess. "I'll have his hide," he rumbled. When Bess snorted and giggled at that his smile returned and he looked back at her. "What was it then, Darling?" he gently prodded. He let go of her hand on his cheek and reached up to brush some loose hair from her eyes. He ran his fingers back along the coal-black waves and drew her loose ponytail forward over her shoulder to gently play with and twirl the strands. Bess always seemed to calm down best when he played with her hair. "What do I need to skin Tittersmyth alive for?"

Again, Bess snorted and shook her head. "You don't need to skin the old fool alive."

"Ah, we don't know that yet."

Bess rolled her eyes and cast her glance over the expanse of wedding planning tools spread out over the table. The smirk dropped from her face as she traveled back, not just to this afternoon with Tittersmyth, but all those years ago with Oliver. "Wolf..." she croaked out after a long silence, "... do... do you want... strippers at your stag?"

The man's fingers froze in her hair. His hand around hers at his chest tightened its hold. "What?" he nearly scoffed the answer.

Bess felt the tears in her eyes again, but this time they weren't coming from a place of happiness and love. She couldn't bring herself to look at the man she loved. "Because..." she had to gulp down the lump building in her throat, "... i-if you do... y-you can. I-I'm not gonna lie and say I'll be ha-happy about it, but it's your stag party, so I... I can be okay with it if you want strippers." Her chin was suddenly taken in a firm but tender grip and her face brought 'round to meet eyes with Wolf again. She gulped again as she gazed deep into those slate depths she loved so much.

The man looked at her for a long time, as if studying her closely for the very first time. He looked slightly... perplexed. Disbelieving. "Would you?" he finally uttered, voice very quiet. "Would you be all right if I had dancers at my stag, Bess?" Somehow the question sounded a bit like a challenge. A challenge to what?

Bess drew her lips into a thin line and set her jaw against an oncoming sob that made her chest and throat tighten painfully. She tried to breathe through it. "I... I think I could be okay with it," she managed to croak out, her voice sounding pathetic and broken.

Wolf's soft eyes grew sad, and it quickly spread across the rest of his features. "Bess...."

"I-It's your last night as a free man, after all. You sh-should get to spend it h-how you like, yeah?" Bess' vision was starting to swim now.

Without another word or any warning, Wolf was taking his mate into his arms and embracing her tight to his chest. Cradling her head, he pressed his lips to her crown in a lingering kiss. The way she curled up into such a small ball against him and pressed so close as she quietly shed tears into his shirt could have shattered his heart. Wolf knew how much Bess hated feeling this way--small, meek, frightened. She thought it made her weak and she hated to be viewed as weak. Of course, Wolf never viewed her that way, but the feelings remained all the same.

"This wasn't just because of Tittersmyth's comment," the man murmured after a moment when Bess' breathing seemed to have evened a bit. He stroked large hands over her hair and up and down her back in soothing strokes. "This was an issue with Oliver, wasn't it?"

Bess croaked out a laugh. She pressed her face deeper into his chest and moaned wearily as she gently smacked his shoulder. "Ugh. How do you always know?"

Wolf couldn't help the little chuckle that escaped him in turn. "Just lucky, I suppose." His fiancée snorted and he smiled, glad she was in slightly better spirits.

"Bess, my sweetest moondust," he went on after a moment, voice soft and low, "you wouldn't be all right with strippers at my stag party." It wasn't a question.

Bess sniffled and shook her head against his chest. "No."

"Then why say you would be?" He was sure he knew the answer, but even so, Wolf wanted to hear her say it. Bess being able to voice her feelings and have them listened to and taken seriously helped her to realize that her emotions and thoughts were valid--that she was valid.

Slowly, Bess pulled away from his embrace to sit back and face him again. She reached up to wipe away her tears and smiled when the man did as well, stroking her cheekbone and the inside of her nose with his thumb. It still amazed her how any man besides her stepfather could be so gentle and caring in every possible way with her.

"Bess?"

"Oliver... made a stink when I told him I didn't like the idea of strippers at his bachelor party."

Wolf made a quiet noise of derision in response to that. That fact didn't surprise him in the least bit.

"I tried explaining to him that, um... that the idea of him watching other women undress and having them g-get all up in his business... m-made me feel disrespected and gross." Bess made a dry laugh. "He didn't care. He was determined to get his strippers and who the hell was I to tell him what he couldn't and couldn't do for his bachelor party--his last night of freedom?" There was no mistaking the pain, anger, and betrayal in her own voice, even after all these years. Bess snorted at herself and buried her face in her hands. "I don't know why I'm still so upset about it. Moses, I'm so stupid!"

Wolf reached up and gently grabbed her wrists to pull her hands from her face. "No," he gently scolded. "Moonbeam, Darling, look at me." Her eyes came to his and he held her gaze as he shook his head. "No. We're not talking or thinking like that anymore, remember? We're going to feel what comes and acknowledge it, no matter how unreasonable it seems, yes?"

Bess sniffled and nodded. "Right. Because every emotion is valid," she repeated what their couple's counselor and told them many times. "Just not every action."

Wolf nodded. "So... did the rat bastard have his strippers?"

Bess scoffed and shrugged with a wry smirk. "Never made it that far. He wanted to celebrate his party the night right before our wedding. I'm sure he would've, though." Her voice dropped in a deeper register and took on a cartoonishly dim-witted drawl as was normal when she mocked and imitated her ex: "Like he was 'bout to be cheated outta his strippers."

Wolf chuckled at that, his gaze falling to their fingers as they absentmindedly played with each other, twining and untwining, playing out little battles of dominance. It was incredible how they just went together so easily--so naturally. It was something the billionaire had never suspected to have ever in his life. He wasn't about to let it go now. "Last night of freedom," he muttered, looking back up at Bess. "That's what Oliver called it?"

Bess nodded. "He made quite a point of it."

The man looked down at their entwined hands again, stilling his fingers to simply hold the woman he loved in the safety and security she deserved to have. How anyone could have ever treated her so harshly and cruelly as they had, he'd never understand. How Oliver Sprague had been able to two-time and betray her and not see the absolute blessing he had when he had her.... Perhaps it was a bit smug, but Wolf couldn't help but think that this is what was meant when the difference between boys and men was spoken of.

"Elizabeth Felicity Sullivan-Marley," he spoke after a moment, "my stag party would not be my "last night of freedom"." He looked up to find the eyes of his beloved focused completely on him and he smiled. "I haven't been a free man the moment you came into my life," he continued on. "And I certainly haven't been a free man since we became a couple." He brought her hands to his mouth again and kissed both of them with such sweet tenderness, Bess made that teary squeaky little whimper he loved to hear so much. Then he met her eyes again with all the sincerity in the world. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Bess' heart fluttered in the way only he could make it flutter. It wasn't the first time--she should have been more than used to it by now--but she still felt as giggly and mushy and freshly in love as she had since the first night they'd curled up in front of the woodstove kissing into the morning. (And then getting caught by George.) "Really?" she asked, slipping her bottom lip through her teeth. "You don't pine for the days of being a single man again? The freedom to do what you want when you want without regard for someone else?"

Wolf quirked up an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I ever really had that," he remarked with a smirk. He glanced at her hands again as she snickered and stroked his thumb over the little moonstone ring on her left hand. Never had a ring looked more natural or fetching on a woman. "No," he said, looking back to his fiancée. "I don't pine for a single moment where you wouldn't be in my life. Perhaps bachelorhood is freedom for other men... it was never that for me. With you... I've never felt more comfortable or free to be myself. When I'm with you, I feel secure to express myself in ways I previously thought I couldn't. What's more, I feel as though I actually have someone who cares about the things I say, think, feel, and do."

Bess smiled tenderly and reached up to stroke his cheek. "You do, my moonlight," she assured him. "I do care. I care about everything concerning you."

That did it. Overcome with emotion and acting purely on impulse, the man reached up to cup his mate's neck and pulled her in close until he could press his mouth to hers and kiss her soundly. He moved his lips in tandem with hers, a tingling warmth spreading throughout his body. Her smell and taste--even a bit salty with her tears--intoxicated him more than any alcohol ever could. If he jumped out the window of his top-floor flat, he was sure he would fly.

Finally, the pair broke the kiss, and Wolf brought his hand up to hold Bess' jaw. He traced his thumb over her rosy lips. His lips curled into a smile as the ethereal, luminescent beauty she always exuded shone tenfold as it always did when she was left enveloped in the haze of a kiss. "My most darling Bess," he whispered, voice husky, eyes soulful and dark, "being with you... that's my freedom."

Bess had no response to that other than to wrap her arms around the man's neck and kiss him deeply again. As he rose from the floor to stand, she wrapped her legs around his lithe waist and tangled her fingers into his hair, setting the silvery strands free from their horsetail. "Take me to bed, Ebenezar," she rasped against his lips. "Please."

The man had the cheek to smirk. "Are you going to strip for me, then?" he teased, biting his bottom lip in the way he knew Bess couldn't resist.

Bess gave him a saucy smile. "Just don't expect it for your stag, Handsome."

Wolf rumbled a growling chuckle and made his way toward the spiral stairs to the second floor. It seemed wedding planning would have to wait for the time being.

@rom-e-o @ray-painter @crimson-phantom-designs @purgratoriat @st0r-fruit @m0nsterwife @the-house-of-auditore-frye @oldmanlusting @christmasgaybusinessmen

[quill-pen]

Timeless Firsts with the Girls: Kisses

Set in the Timeless Scroogeverse

~Addie

Addie closed the cottage door and swooned backwards to rest against it, her mind shrouded with a rose-pink haze and butterflies still thrumming around her insides. She couldn't stop the dreamy little smile that curved her glossy lips, lips that could still feel the caress of his against them. Lips that were longing to feel the caress again, despite the numerous times they had already throughout the afternoon.

The tip of the woman's tongue peeked out to swipe at her lips as though she still might be able to taste her boyfriend on them. The taste of her own lipgloss brought forth the consideration of Tom licking her own taste off his own lips, and Addie couldn't help the giddy little giggle that escaped her. She'd never felt so on cloud nine in all her twenty-three years!

Burying her blushing face in her hands, the girl let her knees buckle slowly so that she slid down the door until she crouched on the floor. She stayed there for a moment, revelling in the events of the afternoon. They'd been real, yes? Not a dream? Because this all felt like a beautiful, wonderful, perfectly romantic dream!

"Addie?" a familiar American accented voice called her.

Addie looked up to see her older cousin and roommate, Bess, standing half in and half out of the little hall as she poked her head out of the kitchen's front entry. The dark-haired woman looked a little concerned.

"You all right, babe?" Bess pressed, looking the crouching woman up and down. She stepped fully into the hall and came her cousin's way.

Addie just grinned goofily up at her, giggling the entire time as she held her flushed, round cheeks. "He kissed me this afternoon!" she squeaked.

Bess froze in her tracks, her eyes widening a bit as her brows rose in surprise. "I'm sorry-what?"

"Tom kissed me!" Addie repeated more loudly as she buried her face in her hands again.

Bess took a moment to process this information, then a grin so wide it nearly reached ear to ear spread across her face as excited fire flared into her eyes. She spun to call into the kitchen: "Connie! Gal! Grab the good wine! We got a first kiss to celebrate tonight!"

A duet of excited shouts and squeals erupted from the kitchen as Bess turned back to Addie and took her hands. She pulled her off the floor a little unceremoniously, but Addie didn't care. She was too happy and in love to care about much else. She dreamily slipped out of her coat as her cousin helped them off her. Then she floated into the living area towards the couch. It was true--love made you feel like you were walking on air.

No sooner had she sat down than she was being rushed by her friends, Connie swooping in first with a glass of white wine--Addie's favorite--and Gal and Bess following behind with more empty glasses and the wine bottle. It all just made Addie even more overjoyed.

"Ohmygoodness! Ohmygoodness!" Connie was speaking a mile a minute, her coreflower blue eyes shining as bright as Addie had ever seen them and her cherry red lips spread wife over perfect, pearly teeth. "Addie!" The older woman handed the girl the wine glass she carried before plopping into the seat beside her and hugging her tight. "Oooohhhhh-I'm so happy for you!" When she pulled back she gripped Addie by the shoulders and gave her a friendly little shake. "This is such a milestone for you and Tom, Darling!"

"Y'gotta tell us ever't'ing, Lass!" Gal exclaimed as she took a seat across from them and poured both herself and Bess--who was perched on the ottoman--glasses of wine.

"Everything!" Bess reiterated excitedly.

"Okay, okay, I will!" Addie assured them, still giggling and grinning to beat the band. "I just... Oh, I don't know where to start!"

"Start from the beginning," Connie instructed, ever the big sister of the group. "Tell us how it happened."

"And don't leave out a single detail," Bess added.

"Well," Addie started, taking a sip of her wine as she tried to slow herself down and pull her thoughts together. She savored the drink before swallowing. "Tom and I met outside of the little tea room we usually do. It was a lot colder than was predicted, so I got a little chilly waiting for him to arrive. He noticed right away when he came, so Tom took off his hat and gave it to me." Addie beamed at the memory of it.

"Aaawwwwww!" the sentiment chorused around the apartment as the women all inclined their heads with softened expressions. "That's so chivalrous!" "Such a gentleman." "The lad's a good'un all 'ight."

"The best part is," Addie continued, her voice pitching up as he chest swelled with joy, "Tom put the hat on me himself. Gently slipped it on my head and down over my ears!" She doubled over with a squeal as the other girls sent up another shriek themselves.

"Don't you just love it when they hold your head in their hands so gently?" Bess practically swooned, a dreamy, faraway look coming into her eyes.

"Aaannnd how would you know that, Little Ms. We're-Just-Friends?" Connie teased, giving the raven-haired American a sly look.

"Yer ol' mate Wolfy taken ta holdin' ye coconut in 'is paws now 'as 'e?" Gal taunted further, giving Bess a shove with a fuzzy-stockinged foot.

Blushing strawberry red, Bess glared at the blonde and shoved her foot away. "Keep your grody feet off me, Galilea Hester," she grumbled, but a tiny little smile quirked up a corner of her mouth.

Gal grinned rather evilly and immediately stretched her other foot out to poke her curly-haired friend's shoulder with her toe. "Boop."

"Quit it," Bess growled, but her smile was growing. She smacked Gal's ankle.

Gal brought her other foot up again and Bess smacked it back only for Gal to lift the previous foot once more.

"Quit it!" Bess repeated, her snarl turning into a laugh. "Quit! Quit it!"

The two kept at it, succumbing to a fit of giggles.

Connie and Addie laughed at the them.

"Keep going, honey," the redhead instructed the brunette as she took another sip of her wine. "Tell us more." She lovingly smoothed a hand over Addie's hair and brushed some behind her ear. "Don't keep me waiting with the suspense!"

Gal and Bess quieted as they turned their full focus back on Addie. Gal snuck in one last boop with her big toe and Bess made a deft whack to her knee in retaliation. "Ow!"

Her cheeks growing pinker, Addie smiled shyly and ducked her head a bit as she looked into her wine glass. "Well..." she went on slowly, quietly, "... Tom kind of just... held my face in his hands for a minute and looked at me. Like, looked at me, you know?"

"Aye," Gal interjected. "Like ye're t'e only star in 'is sky." She smiled reminiscently.

"After a minute or two, his hands moved to my shoulders and he pulled me closer. He told me, "If you don't look more beautiful every time I see you"."

Another happy shriek went up from the girls at that, Gal paddling her feet in the air and Bess pounding on the arm of her seat. Connie appeared to melt into the cushions, though she expertly kept her wine upright and stationary.

"Then, before I knew it, he was leaning in, and I just leaned in too. We misjudged just a bit because his lips touched the corner of my mouth first."

Her friends all suddenly melted into mush, dreamy moans and sighs echoing around the room. "Oh, god..." Connie murmured, her eyes unfocused as she imagined the scene. She rested a hand over her heart as if to steady it.

"He pressed the littlest, gentlest kiss there and then kissed me full on the lips," Addie continued, sinking into the memory again. The butterflies began to flutter tenfold through her insides again. "His lips were so soft and warm and perfect! And he smelled so wonderful, like plums and sandalwood and a little bit like roasting chestnuts. I thought I was in heaven!"

"Tell us about his hands," Bess practically pleaded. "What did he do with his hands?"

Addie bit her lip and giggled. "Well, they started on my shoulders," she answered. She set her glass down on the coffee table and brought her hands up to her face. "But then they slowly slid up my throat to cup my jaw so tenderly--like he was afraid I might break if he held me too tightly. Then they began to move back along my jaw and started to curl into my hair as he pulled me deeper into the kiss. And I just grabbed onto his waist to pull myself in closer and completely melted into it."

"Did 'e use tongue?" Gal pressed with a smirk.

Addie giggled and squeaked, "Yeah. A little. He tasted like peaches."

Once again, the women all melted into wine-sipping puddles.

"What a kiss," Bess remarked emphatically, as as she laid draped over the arm of her chair with a hand pressed to her brow. She was a tad out of breath as if she'd just experienced the kiss herself.

"But my favorite part," Addie admitted, "after he kissed me, Tom-Tom pressed his forehead to mine and we just... stood there for a minute like that." She sighed happily and sank heavily into the cushions around her with a stupid grin as she pressed a hand to her bosom. "It felt like we were the only two people in the whole world. Nobody else mattered--just us." She laughed after a moment and pressed a hand to her eyes in embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sure people were looking at us like we were idiots."

"Idiots in love," Connie corrected her.

"Bes' kind," Gal agreed.

"He kissed me again as he dropped me off," Addie confessed. "It wasn't as long or deep, but it was just as amazing. I know I'm going to dream about it tonight. Oh, I can't wait to see Tom again tomorrow!"

Chuckling, Bess rose to her feet and cast her gaze around the room at the others. "Well, girls," she addressed them, "on such an occasion as this, I believe a toast is in order. So allow me to make it." She turned her dark blue eyes on her younger cousin and smiled affectionately at her as she raised her wine glass. "To Addie and Tom. May their love shine eternal and continue to blossom and grow. May good things overwhelm them and bad things stay far away." Her smile turned into an ornery smirk and she winked at her cousin. "And may there be many, many, many more amazing kisses to come. As well as other exciting things."

Addie's face flared hot pink and she hid her face in her hands as her friends laughed, Connie reaching over to give her a squeeze around the shoulders.

"To Toddie!" Bess declared, using the couple name that had originally been an ironic joke between the girls before sticking and becoming the official moniker for the pair.

Gal and Connie raised their glasses and cheered: "To Toddie!"

@rom-e-o I did it. ☺️

[quill-pen]

@rom-e-o

Karim, Solomon, and Ernie debating with the women about how menstrual pain can't be worse than getting hit in the balls and pregnancy can't be as bad as women claim it to be.

Obviously the boys in long-term relationships are staying out of this. As is Maxwell--he's shadowing Bess to be a midwife after all.

So Bess, decides to hook the boys up with someone she knows has a cramping simulator. If the boys don't concede after that, she has on hand those pregnancy suits for them to wear around for a week.

Let chaos ensue.😈