#tucks him in and feeds him one broccoli

[waterkittywriting]

the fic of aku and chuuya where the reader has bulimia was so good omg :,)

as someone who also suffers from bulimia i found it so so comforting

if possible could i please request another one with dazai, nikolai and poe <333

please remember to take care of yourself!! <3

More BSD Men with a bulimic! Reader

Warnings: Bulimia, vomit type purging, Nikolai is ignorant, Nikolai spoon feeds you, Nikolai in general, I really fucking hate Dazai so I'm a little mean in his part, reader is not underweight b/c this is based on my experiences

Characters: Dazai, Nikolai, Poe

A/N: this is my first time ever writing for poe and I do not think I nailed his character but yk it's chill.. also I don't really like this I think the only one I really did good was Chuuya in pt 1

Part one here

Nikolai

- I'm so sorry 4 this but he probably thinks ur pathetic..

- Thinks bulimia is gross IM SORRY

- He won't try and stop u till his DUMBASS is informed by Fyodor that Bulimia, especially vomit + laxative purge types are very very very dangerous!!

- A sick part of him wants to encourage you to continue so if you die he'd feel free but ofc he pushes that away and won't encourage you

Oneshot

Catching you purge

You two had just finished eating dinner on your couch when you promptly excused yourself to the bathroom. He looks up at your standing form with suspicious eyes, but doesn't say anything and lets you wander off towards the bathroom.. just until he hears choking and coughing coming from your shared restroom.

You let out a gasp of surprise as you hear the bathroom door open with a loud bang. Fuck, did you really forget to lock it? You pull the end of your toothbrush out the back of your throat and turn around to face your loving boyfriend with tears in your eyes, who had a look of pity on his face.

He groans in exasperation, "Dove.. didn't I tell you to stop doing that?" He asks, his time filled with faux sympathy as he picks the toothbrush out of your hand, placing it back in the holder. All you can do is sigh.. he just didn't get it. "Kolya, I wish it was that easy, but it's not. It's really, really not."

"Oh please, excuses excuses." He mutters, pulling you to your feet before closing the toilet lid and flushing your dinner down the drain. "C'mon, let's get you some more food." Pulling you out of the bathroom by the arm, he drags you to the kitchen and sits you down on the floor.

"Kolya.. no.. I don't need anything else. I don't want anything else." You grumble while he digs in the fridge and pantries. "Well, you just threw up all the nutrients I gave you.. so we gotta get at least a little bit more in you." He smiles, sitting down in front of you with his legs crossed. He placed a bowl of applesauce in front of you, lifting up the spoon to your mouth. "Say aahh.." he giggles, and you begrudgingly open your mouth.

Once the bowl is finished, he places it in your sink and looks down at you with a serious edge in his eyes. "Now.. bathroom is off limits for.. let's say an hour. Cmon, I'll tuck you in."

Poe

- such a sweetheart omg :(

- holds you in his lap with his arms everytime you try and scurry off to your bathroom after a meal

- unlike nikolai he WILL stop you before you even get the chance to throw up

Oneshot

Stopping you from b/p

He had just finished cooking dinner and had placed your portion in front of you, before sitting across from you and staring down at his own meal. Poe had never eaten much himself.. but tried to start eating more to be a good example when you told him about your 'mia.

You wanted to cry. You knew you were either going to shove this all down your throat in five minutes or you weren't going to eat any of it, and you knew he knew. "My love.." He starts, his voice soft. "Can you try? Just a small bite?" He mumbles, reaching across the table and piercing a piece of broccoli on your fork, holding it up to you.

You took a deep breath, and took the fork from him, placing the food in your mouth. You tried, so, so hard. You placed the dirk down while you were chewing, making sure to go slow and take your time tasting the food.

Slowly, with his help, you finished your meal in what you two would call a normal length, around fifteen minutes, but everything inside of you told you to runaway towards the bathroom, stick the back of a toothbrush down your throat and rid yourself of all these calories. "I'll be right back, Ed." Clearing your throat, you stand up and walk towards the restroom.

You heard him sigh and his hand caught your arm, causing you to turn around and face him. You let out a huff as he pulls you down onto his lap, his arms wrapping around your waist and keeping you there "I know what you're going to do." His voice was soft, and gentle, you hated & loved it at the same time. It comforted you but it also made you feel so.. small, like you can't take care of yourself.

All you could find yourself able to do was lean into his touch, muttering a thank you while you rest your head on his chest.

Dazai

I fucking hate him so much I want him dead I hope the next attempt works Dazai

- Another IGNORANT man although this time he'll probably try and act like he cares

- bro probably threatens to tie you to the bed to stop you from binging

- "You can't ruin your perfect physique by binging, 'donna." Little does he know that does NOT help

- He'll say similar things about purging though too so it's fine

- "Shouldn't purge either. You're gonna screw up that pretty little throat and then I can't use it for .. other things."

Oneshot

Catching you binge

You were on the kitchen floor, stuffing your face with the pan of brownies you had made last night. You had already downed a bottle of milk, a loaf of plain bread, dry oats shoved into your mouth by the handful, anything you could think of. You wanted, no, needed, as much as you could get.

You jump as you hear a key turn in the front door, followed by the door opening and closing before Dazai stood above you, a look of disappointment on his face, and was that.. disgust? You knew people thought bulimia was disgusting, but him? Really? Your loving boyfriend?

"Okay, bella. Let's get this cleaned up." He sighs, pulling you to your feet. You were frozen, you just stood there as tears welled in your eyes from the humiliation and guilt. You needed the throw up. You pushed past him and sprinted towards the bathroom, only to be caught by the waist halfway there.

"No, no, no." He tuts, pulling your back against his chest. "There's no need for that. Remember what I said about needing that throat to be ready? Yeah, it's not gonna be if you're vomiting." He looks at you with a sickly sweet smile and all you wanted to do was collapse on the floor and sob but his arms kept you there.

Eventually, he pulled you down onto the floor with him so you sat on his lap as he whispered sweet nothing's in your ear, while you cried wishing you could just vanish.

[thesilentmedium]

What do they strongly like and dislike, in any category? Why?

[META]

Strongly Likes:

Giving compliments, He feels its important people know that what they do is noticed. he also knows complimenting someone's appearance can sometimes boost their mood and is more than happy to tell his friends they're pretty/handsome.

Foods: Strawberry Roll Cake, It's soft and sweet and adding the little strawberries to the cake for decoration is one of his favorite things to do. Dinner wise his favorite is spaghetti and meatballs, it is a classic that can feed quite a lot of people and in a household of six it was often served making it something nostalgic for him as well.

Dresses and oversized sweaters. He enjoys the feeling skirts offer when they flow around his legs, it makes him feel beautiful. Baggy sweaters keep him warm and are very comfortable. His cardigans from Lil are always a bit too big and he adores it.

Bonus Nsfw: Having his ear nibbled and being bitten p much anywhere.

Strongly Dislikes:

People who are mean for the sake of being mean. His mother hammered it into him that everyone should be treated with kindness, Seeing someone who is malicious simply for the joy of it or to intentionally bring someone down rubs him the wrong way.

He doesn't like kiwis, something about them just makes it hard for him to stomach, he also is not a fan of adding broccoli to cheesy things.

Jacob Ballard, he tries not to but Jacob never made it easy for him. He won't admit it to himself but he never liked his father for many obvious reasons.

Tight dresses make him uncomfortable. He feels like too much of his more masculine features are displayed while in one. Tucking is also more of a challenge when wearing something that tight.

[selamat-linting]

remember that weird fetish-y WWE magazine article i talked about a fan getting to be Booker T's personal servant for a day? yeah this is it. transcript under the cut

King Booker's Peasant For A Day

By Andrew Vontz

Photography by Sean Murphy

Booker T's Powerful Skills and magical red sweats have taken him to the top of WWE. Now that he has ascended to his rightful throne, he requires the constant attention of a servant. As one of Booker T's loyal fans, I felt privileged and honored when the King granted me the exceedingly rare opportunity to visit his castle for a daylong stint as his personal aide. To demonstrate my deference to the King's greatness, I donned a burlap sack with a rope tied around the waist and me His Highness backstage, ready to do his bidding. Here are but a few of the tasks I had the honor of performing. All hail King Booker!

Acting As Loyal Footman

A crown weighs heavy on the head of a king, and he will rarely find the time to relax and enjoy a vigorous foot rub from a male servant in a burlap sack. The king wanted to rush into the polishing of the crown, but I felt that in spite of my best efforts, The King had still worked too hard this day. I insisted that he takes a seat and remove his kicks. I peeled off his socks and went to work off his dogs, pressing my thumbs into his arches until I felt all the tension drain from his body.

Serving As Royal Footstool

Before the knights of the squared circle step into the ring to do battle, they gather deep in the bowels of the arena to share libations and fuel their bodies with grilled chicken breasts and fresh vegetables. The floor provides sufficient support for their stout legs and weary feet, but a true king deserves better. As Booker's loyal squire, it was my duty and my pleasure to drop to all floors and offer the burlap on my back to his royal feet. As his heels dug into my flesh, I had to smile. I knew my suffering would give His Majesty the extra comfort he would need to vanquish his adversaries.

Polishing The King's Crown

Booker T had to summon the strength of a hundred lords to annihilate all corners and claim the crown that was rightfully his. But life on the road doesn't always leave time for the King to keep that crown in pristine condition. I again dropped to my aching, nearly bloodied knees, and rubbed the bejeweled golden masterpiece until it sparkled and the King nodded in approval.

Feeding His Greatness

Only common men hold forks and knives and cut up their own food. I nearly had a panic attack when I saw Booker T reaching for utensils as he tucked into a healthy snack. Not on my watch, sire! I rose from the floor and swiftly speared pieces of tomato and broccoli, then fed them into the waiting mouth of the King. I would have gladly chewed up His Highness's food and regurgitated it into his mouth to spare him the energy of mastication if he would have demanded it. And of course, as his loyal servant, I kept all challengers to the throne clear of his food so it could not be surreptitiously poisoned.

Giving A Kingly Manicure

I next turned my attention to the King's massive mitts. Like surgeons and pianists, the Superstars of WWE ply their craft with their hands, so it is important that their nails and cuticles be kept in absolutely tip-top shape. I whipped out my cuticle trimmers and nail file, and again, dropped to my knees (the only proper place for a serf such as myself). I pushed back the King's cuticles, imagining myself handling a baby rabbit as I worked with utmost tenderness and delicacy, then buffed his nail tips. The task complete, I suggested that His Greatness consider an application of a vitamin-rich clear gloss, but he would have none of it. I winced and rubbed the side of my face against the floor as a sign of penance.

Tending To His Highness's Hair

On of the most striking aspects of the King's appearance (aside from his mountains of muscle, winning smile, flowing robe, and distinctive crown) are his trademark dreadlocks. Narrow, neat, and perfectly proportioned, the King's hair nonetheless requires a daily application of the finest sculpting and conditioning products. Sharmell often helps with the task, but I was not about to let the Queen dirty her hands with such a lowly deed. I attempted to follow Sharmell's instructions, using an exotic bee's wax and petroleum jelly compound. When I handled the ends of the King's locks too roughly, the Queen scolded me. Like a good vassal, I cowered and vowed to flog myself with the cat-o'-nine-tails. Summarily humbled, I returned to the task and completed it to the best of my limited lock-twisting ability. Forgive me, oh King!

Shining Booker's Boots

Like the King's fiefdom itself, his boots are a sight to behold. I gave a once-over to the King's custom-made footwear, which is constructed of the finest leather hand-selected from the hides of only the strongest bovines Booker T's dominion has to offer. I buffed His Worship's clogs to a lustrous rich shine. My efforts fell short, and the King suggested I balanced the heel of his boots on my forehead one at a time so that I might apply greater pressure. The King had decreed it, and so it was done.

Cooling Down The King

The bright lights on the hallway overwhelmed the King as I finished his nail treatment, and he asked me to provide him with personal air conditioning. If I'd known the King might become overheated, I certainly would have brought along a generator and a window-size air conditioner to provide him with a steady fresh arctic breeze directed at the interior of his regal robe. I scrambled until I found the next best thing: a pair of manila file folders that I craftily folded into hand fans. The King signaled his delight with a smile, and in short order, I lowered his body temperature to an acceptable level. So ended the greatest day of my life.

Laying It All On The Line

By now it was nearly time for the King to return to his quarters and meditate on the brutality he would unleash on his opponents in the ring later that evening. His Greatness strolled outside to discover that heavy thunderstorms had turned the ground into a quagmire of light brown mud that stank of diesel fuel. I had completed all of my official tasks for the day, but a true retainer will give anything in service to his master. So when I saw the King contemplating the best path through the mud, I thought nothing of diving face-first into the muck to create a human bridge. I turned my head to the side and laid it down on the ground to offer the King an extra bit of traction, and extended my arms out to the side to create the most stable bridge possible. I felt nothing but the greatest joy as the King stepped onto my spine and gingerly hopped across the puddle. And with that, he strode off into the distance.

[purple-babygirl]

All I'm gonna say is Bucky's little being obsessed with feeding Bucky from their plate

Pairing: Daddy!Bucky Barnes x little!f!reader

Word Count: 1,385

Warnings: ddlg dynamics, other than that it's just fluff.

A/N: that was so cute it totally stole my heart🥺💜 thank you so much for sharing such a soft thought with me I hope I did it justice?:"💜💜you know I be meaning for these to be short, like blurbs, but I just-

please enjoy xx.

dada, open up

Bucky took care of his girl. He’d play with her, read to her, bathe her, do her hair, love on her and even feed her. He enjoyed spoiling her. Bucky loved that she trusted him enough to completely let go so he could look after her and that was exactly what he did.

“Dada,” she called to him before he could react.

She was quiet as they sat at the dinner table, but Bucky didn’t think much of it. Her mouth was busy after all.

Bucky was scooping rice on her spoon when he saw her hand slide a piece of broccoli out of her plate. He was about to scold her about table manners and what cutlery were for and that she needed to wait for him to feed her—

Bucky looked to her, expecting her to say she was full or that she didn’t want to eat this specific piece of broccoli. She almost always did this when they came to the last bit of food on her plate. But Bucky was surprised to see his girl offering him the piece of broccoli she held, her hand raised up so the sautéed vegetable was almost touching his lips.

“That’s your food, honey. Daddy has his too, see?” He told her, tilting his plate so she could see he still had food to be consumed, trying to lift the spoon to her lips to feed her.

“Dada,” she repeated, pouting when Bucky left her hand in the air too long.

“Alright, but just this one. You’re gonna eat the rest of your dinner yourself like a good girl, okay?”

She nodded with a smile, stretching her arm more so it reached Bucky’s lips. He opened his mouth and took the food in, chewing.

“Thank you, sweets,” Bucky said before kissing her fingers.

She blushed adorably, retracting her hand and going back to munching her food with a satisfied smile.

“Now open wide for the rice plane.”

~

She did it again the next day; this time when they were having lunch.

“Dada, nuggie,” she said, pushing her hand forward to him.

“Yes, sweets, what’s wrong with your nuggie?” Bucky looked at the golden piece of chicken she held out. It seemed normal to him.

“Nothin’, wanna share it with Daddy,” she told him, shrugging cutely.

He couldn’t help but want to kiss all over her sweet, little face. But she had to finish her meals and eat properly.

“Honey—”

“Dada.” She gave him her puppy eyes; she knew he couldn’t say no to those eyes.

Bucky silently opened his mouth, biting back a smile as he chewed the fried chicken. He needed to be firm, but he still kissed her greasy fingers just to see her blush and take them back.

“You like it?” She checked, wanting to make sure he was enjoying the food as much as she was.

“Mhhm,” Bucky hummed, his eyebrow raised as he tried to figure her out, waiting for the minute she’s going to ask him to finish the plate for her because she was done.

“Dada, baby carrot for you.” She proposed food from her plate again.

“Sweets, you gotta eat your dinner.”

“Baby carrot,” she repeated after nodding at his statement.

Bucky accepted the orange veggie, kissing her hand again before he watched her continue to sit obediently and eat all that was left on her plate with no fuss.

~

At first, Bucky thought she was passing him the food she didn’t like or couldn’t finish under the cover of ‘sharing’, but she always ended up finishing her food, so that was confusing.

Then she started feeding him food that she actually liked too.

“Dada,” came her call again, her hand pressing a red grape from her snack plate to Bucky’s lips.

“Sweets, daddy cut those up for you.” Bucky’s heart swelled at the gesture, but he couldn’t just keep eating her food.

Bucky sighed, shaking his head.

She thought he didn’t want a grape so she dropped it back and held out a piece of apple instead.

“Do you not like the food daddy makes anymore? Is there something else you’d rather eat?”

“No.” She shook her head, putting the apple back among the other fruits.

“Then what is it, honey? Why don’t you wanna eat your food?” Bucky tilted his head, putting her hair behind her ear.

“I wanna eat my food, jus’ wan’ daddy to eat with me too,” she mumbled shyly, her voice small and her finger pushing the fruits around the small bowl in her hands.

“Oh, honey,” Bucky whispered in realization, his heart fluttering at his girl’s care and thoughtfulness before he took her on his lap.

“Wanna share with you because I love you, daddy,” she continued, still staring at her hands, having no idea she was making the man’s heart melt inside his chest.

She loved him. She thought he was special and she wanted to feed him out of her own plate with her own hand like he would her. She wanted to look after him too. It was so wholesome and it made Bucky feel warm and worthy.

Bucky’s thumb touched her cheek, making her look at him.

“Daddy loves you too, sweets. Daddy loves you very much.” He kissed her forehead and temple, big hand caressing her back before he pressed her to his chest in a warm hug, her head tucked under his chin. “You’re the best baby ever, you know that?”

Bucky couldn’t believe how lucky he was even with his whole world between his arms; right on his lap.

“Red grape?” She suggested when they pulled away and she could try again, her happy smile back on her face.

“Red grape.” Bucky nodded with a chuckle, his tongue taking the fruit between his lips.

“Ew,” she giggled, wiping the saliva from Bucky’s tongue on his shirt.

“Did I just hear you say ew, sweets?” Bucky laughed, taking the fruit bowl and putting it away.

He quickly flipped her down on the couch and started running his long fingers up and down her sides, making her laugh and squirm.

“Did you? Hmm?” He kept asking, knowing too well she couldn’t answer him between her loud giggles.

“Dada!” She squealed, trying to wiggle away from his evil fingers tickling her sides.

“You don’t like if daddy’s saliva gets on you?” Bucky teased, licking up her cheek and she laughed louder, her knees bending in a failed attempt to shield her sides.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” She screamed out, still giggling and panting.

“Thank you for sharing your food with me, sweets.” Bucky kissed her chin.

Bucky had mercy on her after a minute, letting her breathe as she continued to smile up at him. He wiped her cheek with the sleeve of his Henley, placing a kiss where he licked her before pumping his nose with hers.

She giggled, scrunching her nose up. Bucky’s hands were settled on her sides, holding her gently as his thumbs rubbed her tummy. She sighed when her chest stopped its heavy rising and falling, gazing at Bucky with all the love she had in her.

Her palm cupped his cheek and Bucky turned his head to kiss her fingers. Then he leaned forward, knowing what she wanted. When he was closer, she held onto his shoulders and lifted her head up to press a sweet kiss to his cheek as well.

From that day on, it was the rule that she would feed Bucky from her plate; it didn't matter where they were or who was around them. Sam could call Bucky whipped all he wanted, he would open up too if he had a girl like her feeding him out of her plate.

She would share anything that was put on her plate with her Daddy: the popcorn on movie nights, the extra blueberries she always asked for with her pancakes, the pepperoni on her pizza, the last curly fry on her plate, and mandarin slices whenever Bucky would peel one for her. And so he started putting extra of everything on her plate to make sure she still got to eat the healthy amount she was meant to eat. Everything was balanced again. Everything was perfect and Bucky wouldn’t want to have it any other way.

[scary-lasagna]

Could I get the proxies (and slender) reacting to y/n dying her hair bright bright bright neon green? I think it would be hilarious. -Unus anon

Masky

"What the hell did you do to your hair, Joker?"

"exCUSE ME?!

He's going to love making fun of you until it either fades or you re-dye it out of desperation to end the torment.

So far Masky has come up with, Jared Leto Joker, Broccoli Head, Lizard Brain, and many more you wouldn't bother to hear.

After a few sessions of the silent treatment, Masky lets up on the name-calling but not the teasing.

"If you feed a haircut, I'll grab the weed cutter if you want."

He's very aggravating to be around, and he loves pissing you off until you attempt to wrestle him to the ground, which seems to be the only way he learns anything.

Tim, although slightly surprised by the change in color, isn't too obsessed with your new hairstyle.

Frankly, he doesn't care too much as long as you're happy with yourself.

Hoodie

Brian gives you a wide grin, "What is t h i s?"

"You don't like it?"

"No, no! I think it looks great on you, sweetheart!"

Brian isn't one to judge, he's been to film school which were full of people with very artistic personalities.

But, boy, is he surprised when you first walk out.

You actually saw him do a double take.

Brian will jokingly tease you about it, and ruffle your neon locks whenever he passes you.

Hoodie is more cruel, but more so to make himself laugh rather than being cruel. But it's a win-win either way.

His favorite reaction he got out of you is when he called you "Minecraft Slime" and you attempted to choke him out.

Failing of course, but it was the thought that counts.

Toby

"WOW! [Y/N]!!!!111!!!"

"Do you like it?"

"IT'S SO EXCITING!! YES!!!"

Toby is always super supportive of you, excluding the fact that he mostly likes this new hairstyle on you.

Toby makes he clear that it makes you look cool and more exciting. He absolutely loves it.

Were you expecting a bad reaction? Yes. And you're never going to get one with Toby around.

Toby will poke and tease a little bit, but it's never degrading.

He might even grab some of your leftover dye and paint his arm hair out of boredom.

Now, you can be a weird twinning couple!! It's normal for it to burn...right?

Slender

"What on earth have you done to your hair?"

"It's just dye! Do you like it?"

Slender will pause, and tucks a few loose strands back in place, "I believe it suits you, [Y/N]. I'm happy you have decided to express yourself." He says, placing a supportive hand on your shoulder.

Does he think it's strange? Yes.

But so are all of the other residents in this manor. Jeff has had rainbow hair before, Toby has had deep purple, and Clockwork has had a ginger phase not too long ago.

He's used to the constantly changing styles by now, and he doesn't mind as long as they're not hurting anyone or dyeing the animals.

"I could dye your hair next if you'd like."

"Very funny, [Y/N]."

[anlian-aishang]

Dad-Levi "Dadvi" Headcanons - Part 3 - (Part 1 // Part 2)

Word count: 500 Tags: sfw, fluffy fluff fluff, dadvi, levi x reader, she/her pronouns reader

On his days off, he takes the baby out with him to do errands so that you can get the peace and quiet you deserve, in other words, a four-hour nap.

Prefers to use the baby carrier over the stroller, strapping the child securely to his front. He feels it’s safer, more peace of mind, that way - having a better look-out for them. And he keeps it a secret - but the baby seems to enjoy that perspective more. As they explore the great big world, their smiles and laughs make their father do the same.

At the grocery store, he does a few laps in the produce section, walking slowly, waiting for any particular reactions from his little one. If they point and grab at a cantaloupe, that will surely go in the basket. If they look at a carrot and then look away, he’ll buy broccoli that week - or at least sneak the carrot in when they’re not looking.

// // //

Levi always changes their diaper, feeds them, and makes sure they’re well-rested before they head out, but he understands that emergencies happen. It’s why he’s packed the diaper bag, bottle and purees, and the stuffed animal they love.

Having a child, this is what he signed up for, but that won’t prevent the lighthearted you’re a lil brat, aren’t you? as he coddles them - just like your mother, huh?

He will visit the backseat of the car - refusing the public bathrooms for both his and his child’s sakes - for some changing privacy, sit on a bench while he feeds them their bottle, and rub their back, pat their head, and maybe sing a little till they dose off - then finishing the rest of the errands while they sleep, going a little faster now.

And of course, any sideways glances - at a father being a father - will be disintegrated when they meet his steel-grey stare. Any others coming on too strong, not that you would blame them, he makes subtle moves to have his left hand more visible - a shiny gold ring on display. Perhaps even the remark - their mother’s on break.

// // //

The checklist includes more than just groceries, stocking up on all the essentials: diapers, soap, powder, clothes, and maybe - just maybe - a new toy as well. He has no problem with the hours it takes and the money it costs, viewing it as the least he could do. For anything he doesn’t take care of will fall on you who already does so much.

But never would he put himself on a pedestal for it. He took on these tasks happily when he married you, when he asked for a family with you, when he got up to get you all those late-night pregnancy cravings up through holding your hand in the delivery room. It’s the greatest responsibility he’s ever had in terms of magnitude, happiness, and all.

Still, it’s tiring.

By the time he gets home, his body is aching from carrying that little bundle, pushing the cart all day long, driving to town and back. Still, he comes home the right way: first setting the sleeping baby in their crib, then tucking them in, unloading the car, putting away the purchases, and finally crawling into bed by your side.

“Mmm… Levi?” Your hand feels around for him, sometimes knocking his face, better times not, “Where’ve you been? What’ve you been up to?”

He has been out and about for the better part of the day, hopping from store to store, all with a hungry and tired child attached to him, but when compared to all he thanks you for, it’s nothing - and that’s what he tells you.

It’s Sunday afternoon and the whole house is sound asleep.

// masterlist //

[doctorstethoscope]

The Right Chapter 4 || Aaron Hotchner x Fem!Reader

Hi besties we’re back besties :)))

Read previous chapters of this fic here!

 contains: brief mentions of a gun and domestic abuse, the beginning of ~feelings~ between hotch and reader

wc: 3.1k

The first thing you noticed when you woke up was the smell, which Reid would tell you was interesting, because smell is the sense that we lose the most in sleep. Hence, smoke alarms. Shaking the thought away with a fond smile, you padded into the kitchen slowly, finding Aaron with his jacket and tie long discarded, his shirt unbuttoned at the top and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. 

“It smells so good!” You announced. 

“It’s olive oil and garlic.” Hotch chuckled as he turned away from the stove to face you. “And you’re supposed to be sleeping.” 

You craned your neck to look at the stovetop clock behind him. “I slept for three hours, Hotch. And I’m sure you’re going to enforce my full eight hours later tonight.” 

“Well, this isn’t ready yet.” He said. 

“Really? You aren’t just feeding me oil and garlic?” You quipped. 

“Don’t be a smartass,” he smirked at you. 

“I want to help,” you told him earnestly, looking up at him from where you’d perched yourself in one of the barstools at his counter. “What can I do?” 

“Here, chop this onion,” he said, sliding everything you’d need across the counter so you could stay seated. 

He moved around the kitchen gracefully, combining ingredients and stirring a sauce and boiling water for pasta with the ease of a practiced chef. He refused to tell you what he was making, and you leaned forward in your chair, trying to see if the spices by the stove would give you any clues. They didn’t, but before you knew it, Aaron was plating pasta with chicken and mushrooms and broccoli in a sauce that smelled heavenly.

 “Will you tell me now?” You whined as you both sat down at the table to eat. 

“It’s nothing special, really.” he laughed at your antics. “It’s pasta in a lemon-dill cream sauce.” 

“You’ve been holding out on us,” you accused as you took your first bite. “Aaron, this is delicious.” 

He smiled back at you, trying to ignore how much he loved hearing his first name come rolling from your lips. “Well, you helped.” 

“Please. I chopped vegetables and used the can opener. I certainly did not, and could not, whip up a lemon-dill cream sauce on a moment’s notice.” 

You continued to banter over dinner, laughing and smiling in a way it felt like you hadn’t in weeks. Aaron, ever-efficient as he was, had handled most of the cleanup as he was cooking, so all that was left was packing up the leftovers and putting your dishes in the dishwasher. When you closed the fridge, Aaron spoke up again. 

“So, Jess is supposed to drop off Jack tomorrow.” Aaron mentions, with a certain forced casualness. 

“Oh, I can be out of your hair.” You said with a smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes.  “I’m sure I can stay with Emily--”

“Woah, woah, slow down.” Aaron stopped you. “I’m not kicking you out. I was just going to say, I can ask Jess to keep him for a little while longer.” 

“Hotch, no way. He’s your son. I’m not kicking him out of his own house or keeping him away from his father.”

“Of course you aren’t. I can go visit him at Jess’s place and when you’re comfortable with him, he can come here.” 

“I’m plenty comfortable with Jack.” You assured him.  “I just meant, won’t it be weird for him, if I’m here? And I don’t want to intrude on your time with him.” 

“You’re not an intruder. Jack loves you. And I--” he started to say something, but caught himself. You decided not to think too hard about it. “I would be happy to have you here, with him.” 

You still felt uneasy-- you knew his time with Jack was precious. You took a deep breath, preparing to strike a compromise. “How about this-- I go stay with Emily-- listen--” you stopped him before he could cut you off. “I go stay with Emily tomorrow night. It’s Saturday. I need some girl time, and Jack needs some dad time. You and Jack can spend the day together, and then I can come back on Sunday and you can talk to him about me being here before I’m actually in his kitchen eating his cinnamon toast crunch. I know he loves me, and I love him too, but I don’t want to overwhelm him.”

You could tell that he wasn’t entirely sold on the idea of you being out of his sight for a whole day, but he wasn’t Josh-- he wasn’t going to try to use his emotions to control your behavior. He didn’t say anything, but you could see the discomfort on his face. You know that sooner or later, you’d have to have a conversation about where you’re actually going to live-- but you decide not to push him any further tonight. 

“I’ll be with Emily the whole time. After today, I’m pretty sure she’d shoot him on sight if given the opportunity. You don’t need to worry.” You told him, reaching over to squeeze his hand. Your touch grounded him, brought him back to reality.

He took a deep breath, resigning himself to give you what you wanted, just as he always would. “And you’re going to take your meds, and take it easy, and not--”

“Yes, dad.” You scoffed. “See, this is why I need you and Jack to take some time. You should get all of this out with him.” you laughed at him, and he grinned back at you. 

“You’re just as stubborn. That’s not my fault.” 

“Some people call that being strong-willed, Aaron.” you teased back, sticking your tongue out at him for good measure. 

Aaron panics slightly when he doesn’t find you in the guest room the next morning, but his anxiety evaporates when he sees you perched on the couch in the living room, your hair thrown up into a bun, sitting criss-cross with your feet tucked underneath you and your laptop on your lap. You’ve brewed a pot of coffee, and Aaron takes a minute to look at you fondly before that nagging voice at the back of his head reminds him that you’re his subordinate, that you were hurting, and that even if you weren’t, you could never love a bitter, old, broken man like him. 

“Working on something?” He asked, interrupting his own spiral. 

Your eyes shot up instantly, not having noticed his entrance. “Nothing important. The coffee’s still hot, I hope you don’t mind.” 

“Of course I don’t mind.” He reminds you, rolling his eyes goodnaturedly. “You’re not an intruder here. Especially not when you make a strong pot of coffee.” 

“Doing anything fun with Jack today?” You asked, shutting your laptop as he sat down at the other end of the couch. 

“It’s supposed to be nice, I think we’ll go to the park. He’s just about ready to take the training wheels off of his bike.” He smiled fondly. 

“Aw, my little man! I’m so excited for him.” You cooed, only brightening Aaron’s smile.

“What about you?” 

“I’m not sure. Emily said I should be ready for brunch and that she, JJ, and Garcia would handle the rest. She mentioned that someone gave her explicit instructions for me to take it easy, so I imagine we’ll probably be skydiving and binge drinking.”

“You think you’re real funny, don’t you?” Aaron asked dryly. 

“Yeah, actually, I do.” You smiled over at him, and the corners of his mouth quirked up before he could force them into their usual stoic line. 

There’s a knock at the door, and you shoot up. “That’s Em.” 

Aaron places a hand on your forearm as you trot past. “Hey.” His gentle voice stops you in your tracks. “Be safe, please? Be vigilant, and call me if anything happens?” He looks up at you, and you can see the lines of concern etched around his dark brown eyes.  

“Nothing’s going to happen, Aaron.” You placed your hand on top of his. “Enjoy your day with Jack. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

There’s a moment that passes between you, and you almost think you’re going to lean and give him a peck on the cheek to say goodbye, but Emily knocks again and you’re both distracted. You roll your eyes at yourself as soon as your back is to Aaron. Clearly these painkillers were taking their toll on you.

When you and Emily arrived at the restaurant, JJ and Garcia were already at an outdoor table waiting for you. The four of you chatted and laughed over pancakes and coffee and fruit before walking around the downtown area shopping. Then JJ started leading you down a less-familiar street. 

“Where are we going?” you asked, picking up your pace a little to walk next to JJ, who was at the front of your four-person group on the sidewalk. 

“That is for us to know, and you to find out.” She winked at you with a smile before taking off ahead. You let her, falling into step with Penelope. 

“You know, too?” 

“Of course I do, kitten. But I’m not spoiling the surprise! Just be patient.” 

You know better than to even try with Emily. You just rolled your eyes, chuckling a little at your friends’ antics. Eventually, JJ is leading you up the steps of a brownstone, set back a little way from downtown. 

“What are we doing?” You asked breathlessly. 

“We’re just taking a peek.” JJ said, opening the door and leading you up to a second-floor unit. 

“This feels illegal.” You remark as Emily produces a pair of keys. 

“I know the owner,” she tells you, swinging the door open and letting you walk inside first.

Natural sunlight pours into the empty apartment. You look to the left and see a granite kitchen island, and crisp white cabinets situated between stainless steel appliances. The space that you assume to be the living area is open, and the room is of course void of furniture, but it’s not hard to imagine a loveseat in the center of the room, a chaise along the far wall, a coffee table in the middle, an open bottle of wine and all of your friends filling the empty space. 

“What are we doing here?” You ask with a little chuckle. 

“Well, we know that Josh’s name is on the lease at your current place.” Penelope starts. “And you just have a lot going on right now, and we wanted to help, so we were looking at some places for you. If you don’t like this one that’s fine, I have a whole catalogue of others sorted by distance from work and walkability and--” 

“You guys didn’t have to do that. Thank you.” You smiled. 

“We wanted to.” JJ tells you. 

“Well, what do you think? Go, look at the bedroom.” Emily prods, and you smile, swinging open the door across the room, revealing a large open bedroom and an en-suite bathroom with a truly gorgeous tile shower. 

“The place looks great, Em, it really does. I’m just going to have to think about it. There’s been a lot going on.” You understate. 

“Of course.” She responds. 

“Not to mention the fact that Hotch barely wanted to release me into your care for the night, so I’m not sure he’ll take well to me moving further than his guest room.” You laughed. 

“He’s got it, bad.” JJ comments offhandedly, and your jaw hits the floor. 

“Jennifer!” You chastise her.

“What? You can’t possibly play dumb here.” She asks. 

“I literally couldn’t have less of a clue what you’re talking about. Hotch has only ever been platonic and professional with me.” You denied.

“Well, of course, but he’s different with you.” Emily defends JJ. 

“Different how?”

“He’s--- he’s just different, sweet cheeks. He lets his walls down, and only by 10% or so, but for Hotch, that’s major.” Garcia supplies.

“He’s protective of you in the field.” JJ notes. 

“He’s protective of all of us in the field. We just get partnered up a lot.” You defend him, although you don’t know why. You’d want nothing more than to let them convince you that you meant something to Hotch the same way he meant something to you, but you couldn’t let yourself believe that. It would only mean more heartbreak later. 

“And who makes that decision?” Garcia reminds you.

“And it’s not just the field. He doesn’t even like it when the local cops look at you the wrong way or give you a hard time.”  Emily adds.

“You all need to get away from work more. You’re profiling when there’s nothing there.” You argue weakly. 

“You’ll see,” JJ smiles, rolling her eyes at you. “We’ll let you off the hook for now. But you might want to put a little thought into why your first worry about getting a new place is what Hotch would think.” 

The rest of the day found you back at Emily’s place, lounging around in comfy clothes and binging shitty rom-coms. You ordered a couple of pizzas for dinner, and passed around twizzlers and coca cola like you were at a middle school sleepover. It was nice. Great, even. Josh wasn’t the biggest fan of your coworkers, and you had grown more distant from them over your time with Josh. The conversation was breezy and light, the evening full of laughter. It wasn’t until later, when everyone was cleaning up and preparing to head out, that your tone became a little more serious. 

“Thank you guys, seriously.”

“You know you don’t have to thank us for eating takeout and watching movies in our sweats.” JJ tells you with a smile as she tosses some candy wrappers.

“And you know that’s not what I’m thanking you for. I know I wasn’t the best friend when Josh and I were together.” 

“Clearly that wasn’t your fault.” Emily reminds you. 

“Maybe not, but I still appreciate everything you all did for me today. I missed you.”

“We missed you too, bug.” Garcia said, wrapping you up in a hug. “Just don’t tell boss man that we stayed past your bedtime.”

You let out a laugh. “He’s so ridiculous.” 

“Ridiculously in loveeee,” JJ sings out teasingly. 

“Watch it, or I’ll tell him you kept me out late drinking!” You joked with her as you and Emily walked JJ and Garcia out the door. You and Emily bid your goodnights to each other as you slipped into her spare room, stretching out across the bed lazily. You feel your phone start to vibrate, but you can’t for the love of god remember which zippered pocket of your go-bag you’d left it in. When it stops vibrating, you let out a frustrated groan. Finally, you find it, in the pocket of the jeans you’d worn to brunch this morning. You have a missed call from Aaron, which you return immediately, flipping back over to lie against the mattress. He picks up on the first ring. 

“Hey, I didn’t wake you, did I?” 

You check the time briefly, rolling your eyes a little. It’s not even midnight. “No, I was awake.” You tell him. 

“Did the girls just leave?” He asks casually, but you know Garcia probably wasn’t joking about Hotch enforcing a bedtime. 

“A while ago. I was in the shower when you called.” 

“You’re an awful liar, you know.” He chuckles at you. 

“I thought we agreed that you were going to let all this parental energy out on Jack.” You responded, hoping he could hear the smirk in your voice. 

“I just don’t want you to push it.” Hotch confesses with a sigh. 

“Hotch, I’m okay. Really. You got me out of there and got me patched up. I’m good now.” you tell him, sitting up against the pillows. 

“I also let you go home with him that night after I saw him hit you.” He reminds you, and although you can’t actually see him, your mental picture of him, head hung and thumb running anxiously against his fingers, is startlingly real.

“I made that choice, Hotch. You gave me an out and I chose not to take it.” You reminded him. “That’s on me.” 

“No, it’s not. This wasn’t your fault.” He’s quick to correct you 

“Not yours, either.” You add.

“He pulled a gun on you that night.” He says, more to himself than to you. 

“Yeah, he did.” You said quietly.

“If I had let you go home with him, and he had--” He starts to spiral, but you pull him out of it. 

“Aaron. I’m right here on the phone with you. You came and got me out of there. I’m okay.” 

“I don’t know what I would have done. I can’t-- I can’t imagine a world without you in it.” He confesses, sounding breathless even though you were sure he was just sitting on the sofa at home. 

“You don’t need to. I’m right here.” You tell him. “Is that why you called?”

“It’s good to hear your voice.” He answers, in his own roundabout way. “Did you have a good day?” 

“Yeah, I did. What about you and Jack?” 

“Yeah, we did. We didn’t quite get the training wheels off yet, but we’re getting there. He’s so excited to see you tomorrow.” 

“He is?” You asked. 

“He is. Are you surprised? He’s not exactly shy about how much he likes you.” 

“No, I guess not,” you laugh, remembering a time he had nearly knocked you over in Aaron’s doorway with the force of his hug. “What did you tell him?’

“I just told him that you’d been feeling a little sick, and that you were going to be staying here until you were feeling better.”

“And he was okay?” 

“His exact words were ‘is she too sick to build legos with me,’ so yeah, I think he’s okay.” He laughed, and you tried to push down the sense of warmth that the sound of his laughter spread throughout your chest. It didn’t work. He interrupted your internal dilemma without realizing it. “I should let you get to sleep.” 

“Try to catch a few hours yourself, Hotchner.” You tell him. 

“I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight.” 

“Hotch?” You say before he can hang up the phone. 

“Yeah?” He asks. 

“I can’t imagine a world without you in it, either.” You tell him in a whisper that’s almost self-conscious.

“You don’t need to. I’m right here.”

tagging:  @the-modernmary @greeneyedblondie44 @angelic-kisses13 @wanniiieeee @hotforhotchner11  @baumarvel @ssamorganhotchner

[softyoongiionly]

Bunny Do

You and your husband live in a cottage together in the forest.

Welcome to a day in your life.

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Fluff, smut, slice of life au, domestic au, DO I EVER WRITE ANY OTHER KIND OF JUNGKOOK? No. I have a problem

Word Count: 5.4k

A/N: Well hey there. Look it’s Aqua, back with ANOTHER Jungkook domestic au. Seriously someone needs to stop me. This is just excessive at this point. Anyways, I freaking love you. Yes you. Hi, I love YOU. Ok bye.

this fic is dedicated to @bulletproofbirdy​ whom I love with my whole entire heart. The war has begun.

IMPORTANT: Please check out this link and do what you can! All lives can’t matter until black lives do. 

https://softyoongiionly.tumblr.com/post/621111679997050880/jakegyllenhaals-here-is-a-carrd-for-blm-here

Warnings: swearing, Jungkook abs, smut (18+ only plz)

Chaos is not something you’ve been apart of for quite some time.

You traded in your busy life of hustling and turned away the bustling city you were born in to retreat into what could only be described as paradise.

Sure, the bugs can be a bit overwhelming and mating season amongst your animal neighbors doesn’t provide the most serene of soundtracks but, it was home.

Home is now a small cottage nestled into the forest at the base of Mount Iridescence.  

The exterior is made of smooth grey stone and the roof, which your husband laid by hand, is made from the finest oak the two of you could find.  

Of course, the exterior is covered in greenery, it wouldn’t be a cottage paradise if it weren’t.

The front of the cottage is adorned with a massive flower garden full of white daisies, pink roses, yellow tulips and tons of baby’s breath.  

Your porch served multiple purposes; housing the ridiculous amount of plants you’ve nursed, providing shelter to the occasional racoon or squirrel and, allowing you and your husband to watch the sun kiss the crest of the mountains every evening.  

The interior of your cottage was intentionally simple. Other than your husband’s many homemade ceramic pieces, the main source of décor was of course, more greenery. White linen, chocolate colored clay and, delicate lace also accented the inside of your home.  

Behind the cottage was essentially a small zoo, complete with a dozen chickens, a handful of geese, a cow named Jezabel, a llama named Su and, two baby bunnies named Floof and Tokki.  

Beside the animals was a garden that provided many of the ingredients you use in your kitchen every day; broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkin, green peppers, jalapeños, garlic, thyme, parsley, tomatoes, strawberries, grapes and carrots. There was a lemon tree or two as well but, the garden was consistently expanded as you and your husband learned new ways to be better plant parents.  

The point is, you had made yourself a nice little life in the forest.

An odd trip into town occurred every week or so as well as visits to friends and family but overall, life had resigned to the small nook in the forest.  

You had never felt more at peace...

“JAGI,TOKKI IS MISSING!!!”

Your husband’s urgent call rips you out of your gratitude as you begin frantically looking towards the direction of his voice.

“What??? Are you sure?! We locked their little home last night didn’t we?”

You’re now questioning every life decision you’ve ever made and whilst you’d like to be absolutely certain you’d never do anything to endanger the lives of your two tiny fluffy children, the fear in your husbands voice is unsettling.

Finally he whips around the corner, his black hair flopping about as he does, eyes wide with panic.

“I can’t find him anywhere- I went to feed them and I can only see Floof!”

“You checked under the patch of bedding in the left corner? He’s always hiding under there...” You insure, your breathing slightly increasing.

He seems to deflate beneath your question and, suddenly a rush of pink comes across his cheeks, “I- well...ok I may have forgot to check underneath the bedding...”

He rushes out the last bit of his words before hastily running to the backyard. Despite your inability to keep up with your freakishly athletic husband, your anxiety is fueling your movements to the point that you aren’t far behind him.  

“Excuse me Su, Jezebel! Ge-Get out of my way please!”  

You hear him try and reason with the ladies currently blocking his path as he nearly trips over some stray chicken wire.  

“Slow down!” You call after him, slightly out of breath as you see Jungkook halt abruptly in front of the baby blue hutch housing the bunnies.

“Hi Floof, sorry to bother you again I’m just gonna-” Jungkook murmurs into the hutch as you finally catch up to him.

Eagerly, you peak over his shoulder, heart wildly thrashing in your chest as you see him lift up the fluffy padding on the bottom of their home.

Sure enough, Tokki is sleeping soundly beneath the padding, his small caramel colored body curled into a little ball, completely unaware of the panic over his disappearance.

“Oh god...babe I’m so sorry, I just freaked out I thought- I thought I let him out because, I was the last one out here last night.”  

You can hear the tightening in his voice and it sends a thousands pangs of sadness into your heart.

Kissing your teeth, you pull him into your chest, laughing gently as you pat his back.

“Hey, hey it’s ok sweetheart. He’s right here yeah? You’d never forget to lock them up.”

His hands quickly find the back of your cotton dress, clinging to you tigher than you’d expect before tucking his face into your neck.

With a kiss he mumbles, “ ‘m sorry I scared you, I was trying to finish all the chores since you worked so hard on the garden yesterday.”

“You’re so sweet.” You peck at his cheek, “And wonderful.” Another peck, “And amazing.” Peck. “And cute.” Your kisses move lower so they are focused on his neck, “And I love you.”

With the onslaught of kissing, Jungkook snickers and playfully wiggles away from you as the sensations overwhelm his sensitive skin.

Despite the bit of tears that stain his cheeks, his brilliant smile is out to play as his hands find your waist to pull you against him.

“Soft.” He teases, sniffling slightly but the love in his eyes is unavoidable, “I love you too...”

“You really want to talk about who is soft right now?” You quirk an eyebrow, “You’re still crying...”

At this he laughs, his body shaking as he pulls you in closer to him, the scent of his eucalyptus body wash enticing your senses.  

“Shhhh...” He giggles, pecking the shell of your ear playfully, “Our children are safe, let’s just pretend this never happened.”  

You giggle and shrink away from his kiss before your body seems to snap back like an elastic band, your arms wrapping around his waist.

“Fair enough. As long as you promise to check the ENTIRE hutch next time.”  

He nods, smirking against the side of your head, “Deal.”

As you pull away from him, you feel a pang of regret, wishing desperately that you were able to stay near him for the entire morning.

Or the entire day...

Or the entire year...

But who’s counting?

However, cottages do not tend themselves and while you have the strongest urge to pull your husband into your bedroom, you know that there are chores to finish.

Jungkook’s eyes are on you, like he’s reading the script inside your head and as much as you’d like to convince him (and yourself) that everything in there is PG, you both know it’s not.

Newlyweds are like that right?

All passion, no pause.

Sex, love, touching, laughing, getting drunk off of one another...

It’s a daily occurrence.  

The honeymoon phase isn’t supposed to last forever but, you’ve been back from your honeymoon for 4 years now and you swear you want him more than you did when you first met him.

He giggles then, like a school-boy, his eyes alight with mischief.

“Stop staring at me...” He tucks a finger underneath your chin, “Weirdo...”

His soft cherry lips tuck into yours then, slowly unwinding you with his kiss as his fingers delicately cup your face.

Of course you reciprocate, drinking up every bit of his affection that you can, your hands sliding beneath the white t-shirt that hangs loosely off of his body.

Jungkook shudders as he feels your fingers brush over his lower stomach, arousal beginning to bubble up in his gut.

However, you aren’t going to let his snarky comment go unpunished so as you peek an eye open you say, “The hutch is still open...”

With a pop, he pulls away from your kiss with wide eyes to check on the bunnies. Once he’s satisfied with their well-being, he gently shuts the hutch and turns back to you.

“Rude.” He remarks, trying to appear unamused, “I was literally trying to make out with you.”

A laugh leaves your lips, “You can make out with me later...” You lean in to peck the mole beneath his lip, “We have chores to finish.”

“wE hAvE cHorES to FInisH...” He mocks you playfully and snickers as he narrowly avoids your hand as you swat at him, “I’m kidding! I’m kidding you’re right...just c’mere one last time...”

Your eyes narrow in suspicion but because you are completely weak for him, you allow him to tug you against his chest once more.  

“I love you Mrs. Jeon...” He vows but this time, you can practically taste the sincerity in his tone as he kisses the side of your head, then your cheek, then your lips, “I’ll see you in a bit ok?”

With nothing but warmth in your chest, you offer him a cheesy smile and give him a proper hug.

“I love you too Mr. Jeon...”

As the two of you part ways he turns around to continue his tasks revealing to you the sculpt of his ass within his black jeans.

And of course, you smack it.

Because, who the hell wouldn’t?

“Don’t forget the chicken coop!”

You yell as he jumps a mile high.

“YAH!” He calls after you, chuckling to himself, his cheeks reddening involuntarily.

The rest of the morning passes easily.

You harvest the various herbs and produce from your garden, clean the bathroom, organize the refrigerator after your grocery delivery and catch up on some of your reading before deciding to make some lunch.

Jungkook had been out all morning as well: tending to the animals, fixing some of the fencing, weeding, repotting some flowers and, mowing the front lawn.

He’s probably feeling the same level of hunger that you are so, you head out to the backyard to ask him what he’s in the mood for.

It takes a minute for you to find him but, when you do...you really regret that you did.

His white t-shirt has been discarded over the fence; the only left adorning his body are the dark wash denim jeans, his black work boots and, sweat.

Before he even notices your presence, he pushes his sweaty mop of hair away from his face, squinting at the ray of sunshine currently in his eyes.  

He truly has no idea how attractive he is.  

But you certainly do.  

And you feel like you’re going to faint.

His wedding band catches the sunlight and it reminds you, once again, that this man is your husband.

Which is a fairytale within itself.

Jungkook rubs the back of his neck, wincing slightly before his hand slides down to rub over his stomach (abs), signifying in his own way that he’s hungry.

Which causes you to remember why you came to find him in the first place.

“H-hey babe!’” You call gently, your voice wavering.

Eyes widening a bit, he hones in on the sound of your voice, his face lighting up as he sees you.

“Yah! There she is! Are you all done?”

You smile, adjusting your clothes and wishing that your knees were kissing the soft grass of the garden.

Nodding, you step a little closer to him, trying to avoid full-on eye contact, “Yeah, I just finished up, do you want something to eat? I was gonna make lunch...”

“That depends...” He maneuvers his head to try and catch your attention, his body bending slightly in the process, “Are you on the menu?”

He has the audacity to throw a smirk and an over the top wink your way before immediately cackling as you roll your eyes.

“Shut up...” You shake your head, trying desperately to fight the urge to smile at him but when his face lights up with laughter, you have no other choice.

“Are you????” He insists loudly as he turns to sling his shirt over his shoulder, “I’m starving.”

The way he says the last part of his sentence is less funny as there is clearly some humor disappearing from his tone but, his charming smirk remains on his lips.

As he strolls over to you and, you almost have half a mind to retreat back into the house because, your ability to keep from ogling at him is slowly fading.

“I was going to make something with the broccoli I harvested this morning...” You insist, playfully turning away from him when he tries to lean down and kiss you.

"Kiss meee...” He pleads, pouting his pretty lips, the sweat still very present on his figure, “I’ve been working really hard.”

The way he whines at you is actually kind of hot and, coupled with his slick backed hair and his shirtless torso, it’s getting hard to bring yourself to remember why you originally came looking for your husband.

You oblige, kissing the salt from his lips, indulging in the musky scent emanating from his body.

Jungkook doesn’t like to be dirty but ever since moving to the cottage, he’s fallen in love with working outside and doesn’t focus so heavily on being spotless.  

“I came out here to ask you what you wanted to eat and, now you’re flustering me in the middle of our garden all over again.” You accuse, smiling against his lips, “You need to eat something, I didn’t see you take any fruit this morning.”

He rests his forearms atop your shoulders, grinning shamelessly, “If you weren’t so adamant on feeding me, I could be doing more than just flustering you.”

Jungkook really is an anomaly.

Hours earlier, he was crying into your neck over possibly letting out the bunnies and, now he’s using his charm and good looks to reduce you to a pile of lust.

Unfair.

“Did you not get enough last night? I’m pretty sure we were at it til after 1...”

Jungkook raises a brow, his grin never fading, “Did you? You’re the one pressing your thighs together right now.”  

“No, I’m not.” You lie but, to be fair, you didn’t even notice you were doing it until he pointed it out.

“Yes you are.”

“No, I’m just standing here.”

“Babe, we’ve been together for how long now? I know when you’re in the mood. I don’t know why you can never admit it.”

Because you’re stubborn.

You take one of his hands, leaving one of his forearms over your shoulder as you press a chaste kiss to his knuckles, “I don’t know why you think I’m in a mood. I’m simply asking you what you want for lunch and, its quickly turning into an interrogation.”

It’s impossible to hide the smile on your lips because, he’s completely right.

You are in a mood.

You've been in a mood for hours now.

Jungkook smiles softly, unconvinced, his thumb coming up to brush over your bottom lip, “Ok. Whatever you say. I need to shower really quick; do you need help with lunch?”

Are you disappointed that he didn’t keep at it? Yes.

Are you now left flustered and horny without a solution? Yes.

Do you still get a sense of satisfaction that your husband still tries to pursue even after so many years together? Also yes.

“Nope. I���m good. It should be ready in a half hour or so...” You lean up to press a kiss against his cheek, “Love you.”

A half smile comes over his mouth then, his eyes watching your lips, “Love you too.”

It’s later.  

You and Jungkook are sitting on your sofa, nestled under a blanket, eating homemade ice cream sundaes. The fire is crackling beneath the mounted television that is set to one of your favorite films whilst the world slowly goes to sleep outside your windows.

Life is sweet.

Literally.

“Yours looks so pretty jagi, how did you get the whipped cream to do that?”

Jungkook’s lips are pouted, his head tilting to get a better look at the perfect swirl of whipped cream atop your chocolate ice cream.

“I just swirled the can around in a circle.” You giggle, tucking your spoon into the fudgy scoop of ice cream in your bowl.

Jungkook is not satisfied with that answer at all and he looks sadly at the haphazard lines of whipped cream on his ice cream.

“Mine’s ugly...” His pout deepens, pushing his spoon around his bowl.

He’s freshly showered, his hair fluffy and damp, his skin moisturized and smelling like mint and sandalwood and now he’s pouting???

This man does not let you breath.

“It’s not ugly! It’s abstract.” You assure him, kissing the pout off his lips.

He doesn’t move even as you kiss him, his eyes eagerly looking towards the kitchen, “I wanna try again...”

The laugh that leaves your lips is unavoidable as you follow his gaze to the kitchen, “You want to try to top your sundae again?”

He deadpans, “Absolutely. I need to get this right. It doesn’t look like a sundae.”

“You’re just going to eat it babe, it’s fine. We can practice whipped cream swirls tomorrow.”

You’re still laughing a little bit and he’s chuckling too but the determination never leaves his eyes.

“No, nowwww.” He whines before pushing his bowl onto the coffee table and bounding over to the kitchen.

He plops back onto the couch, slightly out of breath with the can of whipped cream in his hands.

“Ok-” He grabs his bowl off the table and hands you the can, “Show me the motion again.”

You shake your head, smirking fondly at him whilst you set your bowl down where his was.

“Like this...”

You point the tip of the can downwards at his bowl and make a circular motion with your hand, glancing up towards him to insure he’s watching you.

“Ok- Ok I think I got it. Here...”  He gestures to the can, uncapping it before meticulously following the motions you demonstrated, and just like everything else Jungkook does, it comes out perfectly, “Yahhhhh letsgetiittttttt!!!!”

This has you in a fit of a laughter, your chest filling with joy at the sound of his excitement.

Jungkook shoves his sundae into your view, “Don’t laugh! See? It’s so much better now.”

You wipe the tear that’s forming at the corner of your eye, shaking your head at him, once more, “Yes baby, it’s so much better.”

He starts laughing again too because your joy is infectious and he is weak for your smile.

“Thank you. Your expertise is appreciated.”  

With that, he wraps an arm around you and pulls you into his side, placing a kiss on the top of your head, “You’re prettier than this sundae though don’t worry.”

You’re all too eager to cuddle in close with him, admiring the way he looks in his gray sweat suit and admiring the way he makes you feel even more.  

“I’m glad you find me more attractive than the sundae Jungkook.”

He just smirks, getting to work on his ice cream and as he pulls the spoon out of his mouth, he shrugs, “I find you more edible too but, you aren’t ready for that conversation.”

Although you know there is an err of immaturity to his jokes, they still affect you.

They make you feel like a giddy teenager, sick from the pure lust and attraction you feel for your crush.

The comment also sends a rush of heat to your cheeks but, you don’t say anything, you merely kiss his chest and cuddle closer to him.

He is satisfied regardless as he enjoys the fact that he can still make you blush, even if its with cheesy jokes.

The rest of dessert passes in comfortable silence.

Jungkook finishes before you and, offers to take the dishes to the sink whilst you straighten up the living room before bed.

As you’re folding the cream throw blanket that rests over the arm of your sofa, you feel two strong arms wrap around your waist.  

He wastes no time by slowly placing kisses down the side of your neck, his hands slowly up towards your breasts but stopping just beneath the swell of them.

“Is it that time jagiya? Can I make you feel good now?”  

His request is nearing a whisper, his lips brushing up towards your ear.

You lean back, resting your head on his shoulder whilst your hands settle over the tops of his.

After resisting him for the past 10 hours, you’ve grown tired of waiting.

“Yeah- it’s that time.” You whisper assuredly and at that, he spins you around, pressing his lips eagerly against yours.

His breath stalls a bit as your hands find his hips, squeezing gently whilst the two of you settle into the kiss.  

It’s getting too frantic for Jungkook’s liking as he has specific plans for you but, the way you’re kissing him and touching on him is getting to his headspace and he knows he has to stop you before you start kissing his neck.  

Because after that, he’s a goner.

“Come here...come sit on the couch for me.” He whispers into your mouth.

Jungkook has you on the couch seconds later, ridding you of your sleep shirt, leaving you in nothing but your panties.

Instinctually, your arms come around your stomach.

You’re not exactly insecure around your husband but, old habits die hard you know?

Jungkook immediately kisses his teeth, bumping your arms with his hand, “Ah ah...don’t hide from me please, I want to see all of you...” He assures you, as he has a million times but it never gets tiring.

To solidify his sentiment, he spreads your thighs gently and leans over and kisses all along your lower stomach, focusing on the areas he knows you don’t like.

He drags his nose across the band of your panties, looking up at you through his hair, “Did I ever tell you how beautiful I think you are?”

You giggle, brushing a hand through his hair to reveal more of his face to you, “I think you have yeah, once or twice...”

He raises an eyebrow, smirking at the sound of your giggle, “Once or twice? Aish that’s certainly not enough...”

“Maybe more than that...” You mumble, a shivering as he runs his nose along your panties again, one of his hands travelling up towards your breast, “All the time.”

He chuckles lowly, “That’s more like it.” He hums, pressing a kiss above your belly button as his fingers brush over your aching nipple, “It’s still not enough though...that’s why I married you. So I’d be able to tell you every single day.”

Your back arches against his hand whilst he slowly rubs over the sensitive skin, bringing it to a frigid peak.

“I love you.”  

It’s all you’re able to whisper at the moment because your arousal is starting to invade your ability to form sentences and he clearly has a plan to continue fucking with that.

“I love you jagiya...” Jungkook smirks, kissing over your stomach again before sinking onto his knees, “Can I tease you for a little bit? I wanna make sure your nice and ready for my tongue. That sundae didn’t fill me up enough...”

With a shaky breath you nod, parting your legs further but to be honest, you can’t imagine being anymore ready than you are right now.

“Close your eyes for me.”

You’re engulfed in darkness then, surrendering yourself to whatever he has planned for you.

“Thank you.” He kisses the top of your pussy, allowing his lips to linger there as he inhales, “Fuck- you smell really good. I know you’re probably ready now but, I really want to make you drip if I can.”

His comment causes you to inhale sharply, your nipples hardening almost uncomfortably as begins tickling his fingers up the length of your inner legs. His hands are so soft, so delicate as they touch you, stopping just outside the seam of your panties before travelling back up to your knees. Over and over again, he tickles your skin and eventually he starts tracing the edges of your panties with his fingers.  

“Touch your nipples for me. We’re almost there baby, just a little longer.”

He isn’t controlling you.

He isn’t in charge.

He just knows your body so well.

He knows how to make you feel good.

And fuck, if he doesn’t want to make you feel so so good.  

You follow his instructions, bringing your fingers to your nipples and rubbing back and forth over the tops of them, the sensations going straight between your legs as your husband continues his teasing.  

He slides his index fingers beneath your panties now, allowing the backs of them to brush against the lips of your pussy ever so gently, ignoring the throbbing knot of nerves that needs it the most.

When he’s done there, he focuses the tickling motion just on the outside of your panties, tickling his fingers up and down.

Over and over and over and over...

It’s getting a little overwhelming and, just when you’re about to say something he gasps in admiration.

“Oh look at that jagiya- you did it. You dripped all over your panties for me...”

He sounds genuinely proud of you and, you react to his praise instantly, your eyes opening to catch the smile on his lips.

The darkness in his eyes is obvious but there is mixture of adoration and deviance in there too.

He’s going to destroy you.

“Good girl...” He tickles his fingers over your panties once more before kissing the top of your kneecap, “Are you ready to get your pussy eaten now?”

Your fingers are still lingering on your nipples, your legs twitching at his touch.

You're completely enamored with him.

His praise is addicting and you never want it to end.

“Please.” You clear your throat, brushing a hand through his hair, “Yes please.”

He smirks, almost darkly as he kisses the side of your wrist, “My sweet girl...”

It’s the last thing he says before he’s slipping off your panties and getting to work.

He starts by kissing down the length of your lips a few times but, he knows that the time for teasing his over.

You feel his tongue between your lips then, searching for your swollen clit before getting to work on it.

As he licks you towards bliss, his hands are wandering all over you, squeezing at your hips, brushing over your breasts, rubbing at your stomach.

He wants you to know how much he loves pleasing you.

He groans at the taste of you, his dick hardening almost painfully, precum staining the seam of his sweat pants.  

“I- Jungkook I’m gonna cum.” You whisper, hands tangling in his hair as he focuses all of his attention on your clit, licking at it faster and faster.

“Mhm- I know, you’re twitching all over the place for me. Let me taste it beautiful...”

The pleasure launches itself into your senses then, taking up every square inch inside of your body.

You feel your toes curling against the carpet, the back of the couch damp with your own seat as you press your hips towards Jungkook’s mouth.

When it’s over, he’s kissing you and his eagerness accidentally causes him to bite your lip harder than he intends to.

“Shit sorry- I'm so worked up right now. Eating you out makes me crazy...” He whispers shakily and you actually feel for him.

His erection looks painful beneath the confines of his sweat pants and, you want nothing more than to suck the discomfort away.

“Me too- it's ok.” You assure him, brushing his hair away from his face, “Switch me. It’s your turn.”

You don’t have to tell him twice.

He’s on the couch, tugging off his sweatshirt, which was sticking to his skin, his hair a mess as he leans back against the couch.

His body is beautiful; tan, toned and covered in little marks that are specific to Jungkook:

Little moles, various old scars and tan lines from working in the sun so much.

He is beautiful, it’s painful.

Chest heaving with excitement, he ushers your mouth to his “Please ride it, I wanna hold you.”

Who are you to refuse him when he asks so politely?

After yanking his sweats off, you’re sitting aside him seconds later, kissing his mouth like your life depended on it.

“Wasn’t our sex life supposed to go stale at this point? What are we doing right?” He jokes, his hands roaming over your back whilst you line him up with your entrance.

“There’s something in the water up here I think.” You giggle and he follows suit, nudging your nose as he tugs you closer to him.

“Oooh good theory.” He smirks and as you sink down on him, he locks eyes with you, allowing you to see his most vulnerable self.

In the midst of pure bliss...

His eyes widen as you engulf him, mouth opening at the sensation before his forehead falls against yours.

“Fuck.”  

Bracing your hands behind his head, you start a pace you know will lull him into bliss, all while keeping your eyes on him.

The gaze is so intense between the two of you but with the only sound being labored breathing and your skin slapping together, Jungkook snickers.

“Why does it have to sound like that?” He whispers, burying his face into your neck when you laugh.

“It’s not a cute sound.” You agree, giggling despite sinking feeling in your stomach.

Jungkook’s dick is a work of art and it’s more fulfilling than anything you’ve ever experienced.  

It’s going to make you cum again regardless of the unsavory noises filling the living room.  

Speaking of cumming, Jungkook seems to be getting further away from humor as you start to bounce faster on him.

“O-oh shit. Okay- fuck keep going jagi. Please keep going- like that...” He moans now, which is something he only reserves to inform you that he’s really close, “Shit. It feels so good.”

To solidify his fate, you usher his face out of your neck to lock eyes with him again.

“Yeah? I want you to feel good. Are you gonna cum inside for me?”

“Yeah...” He nearly chokes when you tighten around him, holding onto your hips for dear life.

“Let me feel it beautiful. Cum for me.”  

Using his own words against him was a dirty move but, Jungkook makes no complaints and follows your instruction.

His stomach caves in with the force of his breath as he spills himself inside of you, digging his nails into your hips as he does.

You’re not far behind and with a hand between your legs and your husband whispering encouraging words into your ear, you soon meet the same fate.

The two of you stay wrapped up in one another for quite some time before deciding to clean each other up.  

Straightening up the living room was a fruitless endeavor as your clothes end up abandoned on the floor anyway.  

You simply can’t be bothered as you usher a very naked, very happy Jungkook to your bedroom.  

Beneath the cool cotton sheets, he pulls you against his chest, humming contently.

“I wish I could marry you again- that'd be pretty cool.”

In the darkness, you smile rubbing your face playfully against his skin.

“Mmm no. This time, I’m definitely marrying you.”

He scoffs, “Uh no. You married me last time. I wanna marry you this time.”

“Um? You literally proposed to me last time so no, you married me. This time I get to marry you.”

He snickers, “Oh so are you gonna propose to me this time?”

“Yeah- then I’m gonna marry the heck out of you.”

The lack of light prevents you from seeing how big his smile really is but, you do feel the kiss he places between your eyes, “Fine. I’ll allow it but, only because I love you.”

You unknowingly return his smile, hugging him tightly, “I love you too.”  

[svnflowervol666]

Fried Rice and... Kiwi? (Harry Styles x fem!Reader)

Word Count: 2.5k

Author’s Note: Happy third birthday to HS1! Here’s something short and sweet in it’s honor. I came across this gif earlier today and all I could think about was lying on Harry’s tummy and listening to him talk about the album. Hence, this fic was born. Obviously, I had to turn it into dad!Harry, because that’s all I can manage to do ever. Like, literally ever. But, regardless! Enjoy, take care, and TPWK. gif by @stylesinthewild​!!!

Three sequential knocks on the weighted, wooden door broke up the playful banter occurring in the studio. It wasn’t a request to enter, more so a signal of arrival and a warning - she was coming in whether they liked it or not. 

“Delivery!”

Smells of grease and soy sauce filled the nostrils of everyone inside as she cautiously maneuvered her way around discarded instruments and cords and towards the coffee table with a both arms full of enough take out to feed a small army.

“God, thank you! You’re the best! Been starvin’ all day,” Jeff piped up from the armchair he’d been sitting in.

“Genuinely! You didn’t have to come all the way across town to bring us dinner,” Sarah added, hair aloof and sticking up around her head as if she’d been running her fingers through it incessantly over the past few hours.

“Well, someone,” Y/N sneered, cutting her eyes back to Jeff, “keeps stealing my man away from me and I’m tired of waiting for him at home, so I figured I’d just pay him a visit here instead.”

“A simple, ‘You’re welcome, Jeff,’ would’ve done ya just fine!” he sarcastically fired back as the rest of the room doubled over in laughter.

Harry was up and out of the cushion he’d been slumped back in to grab the paper bags that were balanced on top of his girlfriend’s arms so he could take her hands in his and guide her towards him.

“Tip your driver?” she cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips down at him when he sat back down.

“Hmmm,” Harry toyed with her comment, pretending to pat down his pockets in search for change, “‘Ve only got my undying love and affection and an endless amount of kisses. Will that do?”

“I suppose,” Y/N huffed, leaning in to press her lips chastely against his.

“Okay, let’s see if I got this right,” she directed her attention back to the group as she fished around the bags of food.

“Beef and broccoli for Mitch?” The long-haired, almost-resembling-jesus brunette smirked and nodded as he leaned over to take the white carton from her hands.

“Kung Po chicken with extra sauce for Sarah,” Y/N stated confidently. She knew that one for certain.

Sarah bowed graciously as she swiped a handful of duck sauce from the bag after taking her order from Y/N.

“Hot and Sour soup for Adam and Jeff.” 

She handed Adam the plastic tub of hot liquid as if she was presenting him a sacred piece of treasure and cast Jeff’s soup away dramatically as if to say she was still fake-mad at him for keeping Harry holed up in the studio for long hours and couldn’t care less if he spilled the damn thing in his lap or not.

“You’re too kind,” Jeff scoffed, earning a pointed middle finger in his direction from Y/N.

“And last but certainly not least,” she grabbed the two remaining cartons by the thin metal handles and presented one to Harry, “Veggies for the boy.”

“Thank you, lovie,” Harry responded earnestly as he grabbed utensils for the both of them, chopsticks for him and a fork for her (he’d tried to teach her more times than he could count to use chopsticks properly but she could never quite get the technique down successfully) and dug into the steaming heap of vegetables packed to the brim of the container.

It was peacefully quiet as everyone chowed down on the takeout Y/N had brought in, everyone coming to the realization of how hungry they’d gotten after spending the entire day writing, composing, and recording an album. Harry and Y/N sat on opposite ends of the couch, her feet resting comfortably in his lap.

“Wha’ did you get?” Harry asked through a mouthful of food.

“Rice.”

Harry frowned.

“Just rice?”

“Wasn’t that hungry,” Y/N shrugged, “Plus, I might have eaten the leftover pizza from the other day right before I came.”

“Still. ‘S not good f’ you. Need t’ be eating better than tha’,” the newly short-haired brunette (Y/N may have shed a tear when he told her he was cutting it) gathered an assortment of sauteed vegetables with his chopsticks before leaning over the couch and dangling it above her lips, waiting for her to open her mouth and accept the bite.

She managed to catch it all, sans a thin strip of onion that she quickly slurped up before it fell and wiped the remaining sauce from the corner of her mouth with her knuckle.

“You two disgust me,” Jeff called out from across the room, a scowl adorning his features.

Harry smiled that obnoxiously cheesy shit-eating grin that he had become infamous for having in his manager’s direction, being sure to push the chewed up broccoli to the front of his teeth to only add to Jeff’s so-called repulsion.

“I think you’re just jealous that the attention’s not on you,” Y/N stated matter-of-factly, “I’m carrying precious cargo. It’s part of the job description now.”

She gave a snide and over-dramatised rub over her swollen belly where hers and Harry’s unborn child was nestled conveniently on top of her organs, making it harder and harder to move around and have any kind of energy as of late.

“If I recall correctly, I’m carrying his career. ‘S pretty precious if you ask me.”

With a roll of her eyes, Y/N plopped her half-eaten side of fried rice onto the table in front of her and shifted her body so that she was lying in Harry’s lap, her head resting perfectly where his thighs met his toned, yet somehow still soft tummy. Harry acclimated to her new position with ease, freeing one his hands so he could pet her hair gently.

“What did you guys work on today?” she asked, her fingers slipping under the hem of Harry’s shirt to absent-mindedly rub the sparse strip of hair that trailed down from his navel and disappeared into the waistband of his boxers that were just barely peaking through the top of his jeans - similar to how he stroked her bump when they cuddle in bed at night.

“Finished up the master for Two Ghosts and added the keys to Woman, but tha’s about it. Started playin’ with another one, but I’m not sure that it’s gonna go anywhere.”

“Yeah? Was it the one you were playing for me the other night?”

Harry shook his head through another bite of his food and swallowed.

“Think we’re gonna do tha’ one next week. We were just messin’ ‘round w’ this one. Doubt I’ll ever go back to it after today.”

“Well, can I at least hear it before you scrap it?”

Harry bit the inside of his cheek and peered around the room, trying to locate the hard drive that held all of their practice runs and demos.

“Did they take the laptop when they left?” he asked.

“Nah, it’s still here. Let me go get it,” Jeff promptly shimmied out of his seat, stuffed to the brim with tofu and bamboo shoots that were mixed into his soup, making him move a bit slower than he had earlier.

Whilst Jeff was digging around in the back room in search of the song Harry was almost certain would get lost deep down in the numerous files of unfinished songs and melodies, Y/N tapped Harry’s stomach with her pointer finger to get his attention and opened her mouth, signaling she wanted another bite of his food. He dropped the veggies into her mouth gingerly, making sure to avoid staining his shirt or accidentally dropping a carrot on Y/N’s nose.

“Thank you for comin’. Missed ye’ all day,” Harry spoke in a whisper so that only Y/N could hear him.

“Missed you too,” she mumbled through her chewing, “She doesn’t move much when you’re gone. Think she misses you more.”

In that moment, he was thankful she wasn’t lying on his chest, because she most certainly would have heard his heart combust and scatter like confetti into his gut at the mention of his sweet baby girl that was set to arrive in a few months time.

“’S she kickin’ right now?”

A wide grin appeared on Y/N’s face and she nodded, taking the chopsticks out of Harry’s hand so she could move it down her waist and press it against the underside of her belly where their daughter was seemingly doing summersaults in the presence of her father. 

It always amazed him, each and every time. How there was a human being growing inside of her and he had a hand in creating her. Although he hadn’t met her just yet, he was postive she was the most precious and sweetest creature he’s ever known.

Bursting the sugary sweet bubble they’d trapped themselves in, Jeff arrived promptly with the laptop tucked under his arm. He brought it to life, skimming the dozens of folders within the drive until he found the one he was looking for. 

“Found it!” he announced to the room.

“Alright, let’s hear it.”

As if it would allow her to hear the song more clearly, Y/N lifted her head from Harry’s lap and sat up beside him instead. She leaned against his shoulder, letting her fingers intertwine with the ones attached to his arm that was pressed against hers.

The beginnings of an electric guitar and Harry’s voice filled her ears, Y/N immediately clocking the sound as something unlike anything he had previewed for her thus far. It was heavier, more akin to the style of an actual rockstar that graced stages across the country in tight pants and ooze sex appeal from every pore in their body (not that Harry didn’t already do that). 

Next, she heard the heavy pounding of drums, to which she gave Sarah a raise of her brow and look of approval for her skill. She had absolutely no explanation for the way this song Harry had been so pertinent about tossing in the trash was making her press her thighs together to mediate the heat rising within, but it was there. The dull, persistent throb that made her wish her and Harry were the only ones in the room so that she could straddle him right there on the couch and have her way with him.

Pregnancy hormones. Yeah, that’s what it was. Well, at least that’s what she was telling herself.

And then she heard the chorus.

I’m having your baby. It’s none of your business.

She cut her eyes to Harry, who was undeniably blushing and had his face buried in his free hand as if he was scared to see her reaction. He was smirking underhead his palm, knowing good and well that she was staring at him as the lyrics repeated themselves over and over and over again. When he finally decided to peak through his fingers, he was met with her wide-eyed and stunned expression, to which he burst into a fit of giggles that shook his belly and made his sides ache. Y/N couldn’t help but join in on the laughter, shaking her head at his bluntness, for lack of a better word. 

The song wasn’t long at all as it was clearly choppy and unfinished and a product of Harry, as he’d said in his own words, messing around with his friends. Sure, it needed some cleaning up and could use a bit more substinance, but it was by no means bad or anything worth chucking in her opinion. It was very much a song written about her, so she felt like she could stand confidently by that opinion.

“Well, shit,” Y/N huffed as the instruments came to an abrupt hault and all that was left of the recording were dwindling laughter and shuffles in the background while whoever was in charge of the sound board moved to cut the microphones, “That gets right to the point. Doesn’t it?”

“That’s what we said,” Sarah managed to get out in between wiping the mascara from under her eyes that ran when she was laughing at her dear friend’s reaction.

“I mean, I don’t think it’s bad at all. Needs some cleaning up, but I think you should keep working on it,” Y/N said honestly, prying Harry’s hand from his face so she could kiss him on the cheek.

“Oh, gee. Thanks. Didn’t know you were on payroll as a producer too,” Jeff called out contemptuously.

“Umm, without me, you wouldn’t have half of this album. Think I can say whatever I want about the matter. Thank you very much.”

Harry pressed his lips together and pointed at her with his fingers shaped like a handgun as if to corroborate what Y/N had just said.

“Yeh actually liked it though?” there was a hint of surprise in his voice.

He hadn’t expected that. He’d expected a smack on the chest or a scold, not praise.

Y/N smiled at the bashful boy beside her, picking a piece of fuzz from the collar of his shirt and flicking it off to the wayside.

“’S gonna have everyone’s panties in a bunch, that’s for sure.”

She picked up Harry’s arm and draped it around her shoulder so she could properly snuggle into his side.

“That damn kiwi,” she said with a playful sigh.

“Pardon?” Harry looked down, bewildered, to see Y/N busying herself by gently poking the taut skin of her tummy in attempt to get their baby to poke her back with her tiny hand or foot, there was really no way of telling which was which.

“That’s when I said that to you,” Y/N yawned, “I was craving kiwi and fuming mad because you ate the last one and when you asked why I was so worked up about it, I told you it’s because I was having your baby, but it wasn’t any of your business.”

The recollection immediately dawned on Harry, making him smack his forehead with a closed fist.

“That’s where that came from! I couldn’t remember what happened, but I’ve always thought that was the funniest thing you’ve ever said t’ me.”

“Ehhh, it’s top ten for sure. Wouldn’t say the funniest, but it’s up there.”

Harry rolled his eyes at her indifference, but he won’t lie and say that it wasn’t one of the things he loved about her the most. How even though she can be the biggest pain in his ass, she always finds a way to bring light into his life and make him smile even it seems next to impossible.

“So yeh think it should stay in the running?”

“Definitely. If I wasn’t already pregnant, I’d beg you to put one in me right here in this studio after hearing it,” she said nonchalantly.

Jeff mocked a gagging noise, “I think I’m genuinely going to hurl.” 

“Oh, be an adult for once in your life, Azoff!” Y/N quipped.

Harry stiffled his laughter into her neck, tickling the tiny hairs that rose to goosebumps with each breath he exhaled onto her skin. 

“I don’t think you understand, Y/N. I hear about you two every damn day in this studio. ‘S just like you said, the whole bloody album is about you two not being able to keep your hands off of each other for five seconds. ‘M surprised it’s taken you this long t’ get knocked up.”

Harry remained tight-lipped, having reduced his giggle fit to a minimum as he watched two of the most important people in his life bicker back and forth like children fighting over a toy. He supposes, in this case, he is the toy in question, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

“Gonna make a damn good album, though. Isn’t it?” Y/N’s haughty smirk answered that question all on its own.

[starbuckie]

For your spooky requests, how about Bucky dating witch!reader, you could have them do whatever. Or Bucky and reader dressing their kids up for Halloween? I think that’d be adorable! Much love 😘🥰💕

ooh yes yes yes oh my goodness i love this! i decided to make the best of both worlds and have a (kind)witch!reader and bucky dressing their kids up for halloween. okay so for this she isn’t so much of a witch, but she has the same powers as wanda and a similar backstory. also after rereading this i realize that this could be a part two that takes place five years from “keeping me warm”, so if you want you can read it like that. i went a little itty bit far with this but i felt the mood for fluffiness so i hope you enjoy<3

-

“Mama, mama, can you help me zip up the back of my dress?” You turned, a three month-old baby on your hip, holding a pair of scissors between your teeth as you looked at your oldest daughter who was impatiently tapping her foot on the ground. The back of her space-princess dress was half-zipped up, both arms reaching behind her head though she couldn’t reach the zipper. 

“Yeah, baby, let mama do it.” With one hand you expertly zipped up the back and smoothed down her hair which was in it’s usual Rebecca Barnes mess. Curly locks of chestnut hair fell short above the five year-old’s shoulders, topped with a headband with small planets decorating it. “You’ll be the prettiest space-princess all of New York has ever seen.”

“Not all of New York, mama, the whole wide galaxy!” Nico chimed in. He’d always admired his older sister, despite only being a year younger, and had decided to match with his sister and became one of Rebecca’s royal Martian subjects for the special night.

Halloween was never a stressful holiday before this one, with all of your kids being too young to go out trick-or-treating. You were scared of letting them go out, even if they were with their dad, and you wanted nothing more than to coddle them all in blankets know they were safely tucked in the house with you. However, it was Rebecca’s first year of school, and with relentless begging and pleading you had backed down and allowed them to go. 

The school day seemed to have gone by so quickly, with two of your kids at their respective schools, and baby Emma staying home with you. You picked Nico up from preschool, Rebecca up from kindergarten, and by the time they had gotten home, eaten their dinner, played for a bit, and gotten into their costumes it was already six o’clock. Bucky had been at the compound all day; after you gave birth to Rebecca he decided to step down from missions and just trained the recruits, and you were on maternity leave for another good two months before you got back out in the field. Every inch of you was dying to go back on missions, no respect to stay-at-home moms, but you had too much energy and were tired of sitting on your ass all day. 

“The great father of this household politely asks her Royal Highness and her subject to please help put the groceries away.” As soon as they heard their father’s voice the two older Barnes children sprinted as fast as they could to embrace him. Bucky stumbled backwards with their arms around his torso, but chuckled at his kid’s silliness and love. “Hey, guys, I missed you a ton.” He kneeled down to their height, cerulean eyes you loved so much filed with nothing but pure happiness. “Can you help me put away the groceries? I got you some broccoli because you need to eat more veggies, Nico, I know you haven’t been eating them.”

The young boy frowned, clearly upset that his dad caught him trying to sneakily avoid his greens, but nonetheless took the small bag of groceries to the kitchen counter. “Hey, baby, how was work?”

Bucky locked the door and sauntered over to you with a smile on his lips. “Boring, I miss having you there.” He pecked a quick kiss on your lips, moving on to the baby girl with the same eyes as him. “Hi, Em, did you miss your dada?” There was a hopeful tilt at the end of his question, waiting for the baby to say something in return

He got nothing but a wide-eyed stare.

With a huff he wrapped an arm around your waist and buried his head into your neck, sweet vanilla and cinnamon invading his senses. “Give it a while, Buck, she’s only three months old.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Nico and Rebecca’s chatter about candy faded in the background as soon as the lock on the knob of the door started rattling again. “Doll, I should probably tell you that I-”

“Guess who’s favorite uncle is here?” Sam yelled through the house, adorning a Mad Hatter costume and large bags that seemed like they were full of-

“Candy!” Both Rebecca and Nico swarmed their “cool” uncle and started to peek in the bags.

“Wilson! I told you you could come over, not feed my kids junk.” Bucky grumbled. He walked to his friend, snatching the bags of candy out of his hands and putting them away, effectively ignoring the cries of his children. “You munchkins are about to go out trick-or-treating, you don’t need any more sugar.”

Sam walked over to you with a kiss on the cheek for cooing at the baby in your arms. “Aw, come on, Barnes, I’m just trying to have some fun. A man’s gotta do something to ensure their place as the favorite.”

An eye roll from Bucky and a wink from Sam, the two men slumped onto the couch where you sat. “Mama, are you gonna come with us? Can you do the magic for us, please?”

The kids were never supposed to know about your past, a past full of darkness and pain until Bucky walked in. It was only a year ago when they had seen footage of you with their Aunt Wanda controlling objects with wisps of glowing red energy. You had cried into Bucky’s arms the whole night after that as he comforted you, knowing how terrifying it was to have your kids know that other side of you. Your kids, the innocent ones they were, thought you were still the most amazing and badass mom who could bake the best cookies and was like a witch. Yeah, they had lots of bragging rights at school.

Bucky pulled Nico into his arms and nuzzled the boys face, letting the little boy squeal at the feeling of stubble on his soft skin. “Not tonight, Nico, your mama needs her rest. I’m gonna take you kiddos tonight.”

The soft “aww” of the kids was silenced by Sam’s proposition. “I can take the kids if you want, Bucky, that’s actually why I came over. You’ve had a long week and I’ve been on bed rest from the leg. You stay home with your wife and start working on my next nephew,” you punched him in the arm, eliciting a wince from the large man, “or niece.”

“I just gave birth three months ago, Sammy, I’m not doing that anytime soon.” A quick look at you husband for confirmation and you turned back to Sam. “Are you really okay with taking Nico and Rebecca?”

“Of course! We’re gonna go tear up the state.” A peck on the cheek from the Falcon, and he took your kids in his arms and slammed the door open. “We’ll be back in two hours! See you later!”

Another thud let you know that Sam had left, little Emma jerking in response to the loud sound. Bucky took this as an opportunity to sprawl out, head coming to rest in your lap as he took a deep sigh. “Just the three of us for Halloween this year, huh, doll?”

“Yeah, Buck, just the three of us.” 

It wasn’t anything fun. It was you, Bucky, and Emma passed out on the couch at only six in the evening, exhausted from the days activities. But in the moment, you couldn’t find anything more special to than to share October 31st with two of your loves wrapped around you.

[this-is-quite-homoerotic]

Fic: I'm holding tight cause it feels alright, my love, when I'm with you

Summary: After a long day at work, Jack and Ianto get to spend a lazy early night in.

Author’s note: I wrote this for the @torchwoodfanfests​ 2020 Bingo Fest, for the prompts ‘cold/warm’ and ‘vegetables’. The fic and my bingo card are under the cut, or if you prefer, you can read it on AO3 here!

This story was betaed by the lovely @moonlightrhosyn​, and the title is from 'When I'm With You' by Eleisha Eagle, an extremely Janto song that I recommend to anyone reading this.

Warnings: None

Word count: 1773

“Hey,” Jack was shaking his shoulder softly to wake him. Ianto groaned in protest. 

“Come on, sleeping beauty. You can go back to sleep after you’ve had something to eat. Don’t think I didn’t notice you skipping lunch.”

Ianto rolled over on the sofa where he’d fallen asleep to stretch himself awake. His spine cracked, and he relaxed back into the comfortable cushions.

“All of us missed lunch,” he protested. Jack was looking down at him with one of those warm smiles that made his eyes look soft, hands on his hips and head tilted as he took in the slightly red mark on Ianto’s cheek where the throw pillow had left an imprint. Ianto hadn’t bothered changing when they got home, he’d just taken off his jacket and his shoes and had gone straight for the sofa to nap while Jack cooked, since Jack had insisted on cooking dinner. 

Ianto had been ready to go to sleep for as long as the rift allowed, but Jack wanted to feed him before they turned in for their well-deserved rest - it had been a long 40 hours - and in order to get Ianto to agree he offered to make him some spaghetti bolognese. Damn that man for exploiting Ianto’s weaknesses. 

“Yes, we did,” Jack agreed as he reached for Ianto, who was still sprawled comfortably on the sofa, wrapped in his cosy black duvet with only his head and feet peeking out. Ianto grabbed the duvet and held it against him so Jack couldn’t pull it back. 

“But there’s no reason for us not to eat now,” Jack cajoled. He tried to pull the duvet gently away but Ianto was holding fast. 

“It’s cold,” Ianto complained, fully aware he sounded petulant. He pouted for good measure. He knew Jack’s weaknesses too, and he was not above using them to get what he wanted.

He could see the hit land when Jack’s face softened further. 

“You can bring your cocoon to the table if you want. Or I can warm you up...”

Jack’s suggestive eyebrows were exaggerated and ridiculous, and Ianto thought it probably said something about him that they ratcheted up his desire to kiss Jack by about 50% - a desire that was always already present in him to some extent these days, by the way. If Jack wasn’t so willing to receive and reciprocate Ianto’s kisses at any time and place, Ianto would bemoan the unfairness of it all. As it was, he really couldn’t complain.

And there was no reason not to indulge himself right now, Ianto thought.

He sat up, letting the duvet fall around him, reached up to grab a handful of Jack’s shirt and pulled on it to get him closer. Jack went with the movement, leaning down to let himself be kissed.

After letting him go, Ianto sighed in mock annoyance. “Fine,” he groused, pretending to be terribly put upon by having to agree to eat Jack’s delicious home-made pasta, which was also his favourite dish. “But I’m getting a sweater first. It really is freezing.”

“It’s not too cold in the kitchen,” Jack told him as Ianto grudgingly pulled the duvet all the way off and got up to go to his room. 

“Might as well change anyway,” Ianto mused, looking down at his rumpled shirt. It was already a mess from the weevil chase the previous night, not to mention their encounter and subsequent fight with the pair of blowfish that morning.

“Alright. I’ll set the table in the meantime. Don’t take too long, the food will get cold.”

Ianto nodded, and went to change.

***

Three and a half minutes later, Ianto walked into the kitchen wearing polar fleece pyjama bottoms, fuzzy slippers, and an old Star Wars t-shirt. He was carrying one of his favourite sweaters in one hand in case Jack had been wrong and the kitchen was cold, but Jack was happy to see he left it on the back of a chair as he sat down. The steam from the pots had warmed up the kitchen when he cooked, making the small room comfortably warm despite the winter chill outside.

“Hmm, that smells amazing,” Ianto commented, making Jack beam. He didn’t have time to cook very often, what with Torchwood being Torchwood, and he didn’t care to put in the work when it was just him anyway. It had been a while since he’d had someone to cook for, and he relished the opportunity.

Plus, Ianto had zero cooking skills or interest in acquiring any, and would happily live off takeaway if Jack let him.

He served them both a generous portion, aware they’d both been too busy to get more than a rushed breakfast and several servings of coffee for the past twelve hours. It wouldn’t matter for Jack, given his regenerative abilities, but he didn’t want Ianto’s immune system to suffer more than was absolutely necessary due to the demands of their job.

Jack saw Ianto made a face as he sat down, and he had to swallow a laugh, knowing exactly what was going to come out of Ianto’s mouth next.

“You put vegetables in my spaghetti bolognese,” Ianto deadpanned. “What is that?” he questioned, picking at the dish with his fork. “Broccoli? Jack, you heathen.”

Jack noticed it didn’t stop him from seasoning his plate or adding several spoonfuls of grated cheese to it.

“You need vegetables for a balanced diet,” Jack said with a grin. It was a topic they’d discussed many times. When it wasn’t Jack bringing it up by telling Ianto he needed them to stay healthy, it was Ianto complaining when Jack cooked for him and used ‘too many vegetables’. At this point it was more an inside joke than an actual complaint, though; Ianto had learned that Jack had the magical ability to make the dreaded vegetables taste good by seasoning them, so he didn’t actually mind. 

“It’s an affront to the dish,” Ianto countered, not meaning it whatsoever.

“Absolutely not, if anything, it elevates it. Besides, I roasted it in butter and garlic with the onions, you’ll like it. Trust me.”

Ianto took a big first bite with no hesitation, belying his complaints. 

He moaned shamelessly, utterly distracting Jack from his own plate for a moment.

“Alright, you were right. This is incredible.”

That made Jack grin again. 

They were too hungry and run-down from running from one crisis to another for the past two days, so they mostly ate in silence after that. 

Jack pondered getting a second serving despite being full, but decided against it. Ianto was drooping in his chair, looking like he might fall asleep over his empty plate, and truth be told Jack was feeling the exhaustion himself, despite his enhanced stamina. 

He sent Ianto to do his night routine and put the leftovers away, taking the time to wash the dishes so they wouldn’t be left in the sink if they got a work emergency and had to leave in a hurry. Who knew how long they might be away if that happened; they often stayed at the Hub when things were busy or if they were on call for the night. Thankfully, Tosh had agreed to be on call that night, diverting the rift alert to her phone in case anything showed up, so they wouldn’t have to be available until the next morning. 

An early night in where he could cook for Ianto and then go to sleep with him in the flat they unofficially shared had sounded divine to him. And it was. It was exactly what they needed to recharge.

Jack walked to the bathroom to find Ianto brushing his teeth with his eyes half-closed. He might fall asleep standing up if he didn’t go to bed soon. His hair was standing up where he’d ran his hand through it and his eyelids were losing the fight with his exhaustion and he looked sleep-soft and rumpled and all Jack wanted to do was walk him to bed and tuck him in, then slip in beside him and hold him through the night.

Jack took his own toothbrush from the glass and brushed his teeth next to him, his arm grazing against Ianto’s as they stood side by side, and Jack couldn’t help the rush of warmth and contentment at the wonderful domesticity of the moment. It had been years since he’d had a moment like this before Ianto. Glancing at the sleepy man on the counter mirror, he realised that possibly, he’d never had a moment like this before Ianto. 

Ianto knew everything about him. Not in the sense of knowing all the details; Jack had lived a long and eventful life, after all, and telling him everything would take more time than they had with their usually full schedule. But he knew all the key elements of what made Jack himself, all the painful secrets he had been forcibly, painfully made aware that he couldn’t trust people with, because they were the kind of thing that would alienate others, making them turn their backs on him, or because then they might be used against him.

(He’d been betrayed so many times.)

(You’d think he’d grow a thicker skin, that the sting of it would dull with time and experience. Not so.)

His thoughts were interrupted by Ianto finishing up and placing a kiss on his shoulder. 

“Come to bed soon,” he slurred sleepily, and just like that all of Jack’s other thoughts were banished, leaving only room for affection for this man.

“I will,” Jack answered after rinsing, and Ianto rewarded his words with a small warm smile before shuffling to the bedroom.

Jack realised he was smiling when he caught sight of his own reflection.

Ianto was already asleep when Jack joined him only a few minutes later. 

He slipped under the covers on what had become his side of the bed, scooting close to feel the warmth Ianto was radiating, and to his surprise Ianto stirred, the two of them rearranging themselves in effortless concert so that Ianto’s chest was pressed flush against Jack’s back, one arm thrown over his side to hold him close against his chest.

Jack felt Ianto’s breath on the back of his neck as he mumbled, “G’night”. Ianto’s feet brushed against his under the covers before stilling again.

“Good night,” Jack said softly, feeling cared for and safe and helplessly in love.

Warm and content as he was in Ianto’s arms, in one of the two beds they’d been sharing for the past several months, it didn’t take long for Jack to doze off.

[fuckyeahmackenzieboyd]

The Heat Is On - Mackenzie/Marlon Fanfic

Will Marlon regret his decision when Mackenzie asks for a job?

***

“I don’t understand why you won’t give me a chance! Are you, or are you not, hiring? Someone to take over from Luke?”

“Well, yes..” 

“Well then!” Mack smiled “Come on Marlon! Trust me!”

“Why do I get a sense of impending doom when you say that, Mackenzie?”

“Because..” Mackenzie smiled “Maybe you’ve got me all wrong? I know I’m a piece of shit, I accepted that when I was 21... BUT I do have good intentions.. most of the time..”

“Not doing much to convince me here..”

“One day. That’s all I ask. A chance for me to “wow” you. Two dishes, that are completely my own. Trial run. If it doesn’t work out, you’ve not lost anything, the position will still be open and I can work my charms on Aaron now that Vinny’s left the scrapyard.”

Marlon sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. “Promise me you won’t burn down my kitchen.”

“No danger of me doing that again, don’t worry!” Mackenzie smiled, scampering past Marlon into the kitchen.

“Again?” Marlon asked, chasing Mackenzie into the kitchen. “What do you mean, again?”

“Figure of speech, Marlon! Don’t look so worried!” Mackenzie winked, pulling a chef’s white from the coat hook. 

****

Three hours, lots of swearing and a packet of plasters later, Mackenzie presented his dishes to Marlon. The older man had to admit, he was impressed.

“Your presentation needs a bit of work.. What’s this?” Marlon asked, pulling a leafy green dish towards him.

“Goat’s cheese, Orange & Chilli salad with a lemon and ginger dressing.”

Marlon loaded up his fork and hesitantly took a bite. “Oh wow! I mean.. not bad.” Marlon smiled, wiping a smear of dressing from the side of his mouth. “The flavours work well. Like I say, presentation needs to be improved but I can’t believe I’m saying this; that’s really good, Mackenzie.”

“Try the pie.” Mack smiled. “This little baby has got me laid more times than I can count. Don’t read anything into the fact I’m feeding it to you. Speaking of, Aaron hasn’t tried it yet..”

“What’s in it?”

“Chicken, Bacon and leeks. Dolphin nosed potatoes on the side and garlic infused tender stem broccoli.”

“Dauphinoise, Mackenzie.”

“Yeah, them too.”

Marlon took a mouthful and gripped on to the worktop. He could have sworn his knees went weak. It was probably the best pie he’d ever tasted, better than his own even, not that he’d ever let Mackenzie know that. 

“Ok, this is what I’m going to do. These two dishes are going on the menu tonight, you work ‘til end of dinner service. If your dishes sell well and are well received, then the job is yours.”

***

Mack sighed as he pulled off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. He was absolutely knackered. He pulled off his chef’s white and tucked it under his arm and he waited for Marlon to finish cleaning the kitchen. 

“You did well tonight.” Marlon smiled, turning off the light. “I’ve never known so many people around here to order salads. Maybe it wasn’t the greatest night to trial the pie, but we can pop it on the weekend menu.”

Mack’s eyes lit up “I’ve got the job?”

“It’s yours. Just.. don’t let me down, Mack. When the novelty wears off. It’s hard bloody work here sometimes. I know you can do it, you’ve proved that tonight. I believe in you, you just need to prove to me you can believe in yourself too.”

“Funny, you know Jamie Oliver said exactly the same thing.”

“You’ve worked with Jamie Oliver?”

“Well, I’ve watched his TV shows.” 

Marlon shook his head and laughed. “Go home, Mackenzie. Be back here at 3 tomorrow.”

“Sure thing, Boss.”

[animalsatwildlilac]

Power Outage with Bearded Dragon

This beardie has a job. His name is Stripy, and he is a working lizard. His life is full of adventure at Wild Lilac preschool. But he does get weekends off, vacations, and even mental health days, just like me. I think he is lonely when we are not together.

On Thursday, when WL announced an early release because of the winter storm warning, I got the whole day off because I only teach in the afternoons. But I still needed to go in, briefly -- to tend to the animals before the roads got messy.

On the way there, I stopped for supplies at my local pet store, Tropical Hut. I bought 100 crickets and a package of frozen bloodworms.

When I parked in front of the school, rain was falling and the temperature was dropping. Masked parents were picking up their unmasked kids. I left 50 of the crickets in my car with plans to take them home for Stripy, my bearded dragon, and then I went to the animal room.

I fed and tucked our critters in –

Two cubes of bloodworms for the Axolotl;

Cucumber and carrots for the just-hatched baby snails;

Fresh pinecones and toilet paper rolls for the gerbils;

Hay for the new-found guinea pigs (see previous post);

Crickets in with the animals that eat crickets: the tarantula, the geckos, and the cane toad;

And food for the crickets themselves (some apple, some dog food);

The Madagascan Hissing cockroaches still had food;

The walking sticks are all out of bramble – I’m sorry, but they will be okay for a few days without food.

I headed home.

As I brought the deli container of crickets into my house (they had been in my car for about 45 minutes) I realized something was tragically wrong -- all 50 of them were on their backs, heels to heaven. My first though was carbon monoxide.  How could they all have DIED in such a short time? Then I realized maybe they weren’t dead – they were cold! Or did they freeze to death? It just hadn’t been that long. Such drama! I set them on a table and watched them, and as they warmed, they started to move. First a leg twitched, then another, then one flipped over. I was thinking how cool is this! Definitely something to explore with the kids – the freezing and warming of crickets.

And then, as I was deep in contemplation watching the flipping crickets, it’s 3 in the afternoon and -- the power goes out! There was no accumulation of ice or snow. The storm had hardly started. PGE said the power would be back on at 5pm. But at 5, they said 6, and at 6, it was 8.

When the temperature in Stripy’s tank dropped to 65 degrees, I had lifted him out and put him on my chest, zipped up a fleece vest over him, and put a fuzzy blanket around my shoulders.

My husband ventured out into the cold night to find a restaurant with power. He arrived home with salted peppered cod and garlic broccoli and kung pao shrimp from Powell Seafood, and the news that there were now 100,000 people without power in the greater Portland area.

At 8:03 our lights came on! Stripy was glad to get into his warm tank and eat some crickets. The humans were glad to catch up on what we had missed electronically in the past five hours.

Stripy poops biweekly, and does so in a predictable way – pretty much every time I put him in the bathtub; warm water brings it on for him like coffee does for me.

His poop in interesting. Part of it is white and rubbery, part of it loose and greenish brown.

At 2 in the morning my partner woke me. The power is off again, he says. PGE says the cause is under investigation and there is no estimated time for the power to return. In my Ambien induced slumber, I mumbled, “Please … bring me Stripy…”.

Stripy settled on my chest and closed his eyes. He clung to my nightie like a bur on a wool sweater, both of us covered with the duvet. Our dogs are not happy about Stripy joining us in the bed, and they move as close to my head as they can.

My partner kept checking on Stripy, to make sure he was staying on me, not straying into the sheets. But he needn’t worried. Why would this lizard leave the best heat source in the house -- a woman going through a menopausal transition?

Flanked by dogs, a lizard, and my partner who at this point in the pandemic has not just a beard, but a full wizard’s beard, we sleep. But not well. Our thermostat now says 54 degrees. I am worried about the crickets -- they are no longer chirping. but I am not going to snuggle them.

It is windy. My neighbor's roof is covered with snow and smoke is coming out of her chimney. Branches come down from the weight of ice. A car explodes and burns when a power line falls on it. All over Portland, people are lighting candles and caressing their reptiles, trying to keep them warm.

Stripy has two tanks – one at school, and one at home. His at-school tank is what I think of as his studio apartment; it’s furnished with a doll’s bed covered with a patchwork quilt, a hammock, a tiny ceramic toilet, and a small, hard copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. At home, he has a “desert” tank where I’ve built him tunnels and hillocks out of excavator sand.

In the summer, at the end of the day, he likes to join my family on the patio. We have cheese and crackers and glasses of chardonnay, and Stripy gets his own glass platter of mealworms. Yes, I know the mealworms are fatty and are supposed to be a treat, not a regular staple, which is why I’ve been trying to transition him to crickets. I want Stripy to chase crickets like how the beardie in the YouTube video chases blueberries, but he doesn’t.

I believe he doesn’t chase his food because he doesn’t have to.

He waits until a cricket crawls up on his hillock and then -- a quick snap nom nom nom -- he chomps on them. A drop of cricket juice spatters from his mouth.

But I know he still has his instincts, because I have watched him shoot across the patio to catch and eat a bee.

At school, the kids touch Stripy with one finger, and they know not to pet his head. Heads are personal spaces, and plus, that third eye! The first time I saw his third eye, I thought a child had drawn on him with marker.

When not roaming about the animal room, or sunning himself under a UV light, Stripy is carried in a woven sea grass basket filled with silks. He has castles built for him out of Magnatiles. The children pick fresh arugula for him from the garden and hand feed it to him. They sketch pictures of him that are pinned to the wall. The kids love him. They tell him this on a daily basis. They don’t imbue him with meaning, they just recognize him as sentient being.

The kids marvel at how his spikes look so sharp but are actually soft. They touch him and talk about his textures and colors, the orange rings encircling his eyes, his soft belly, his pointy tail. We watch his torso expand as he sighs, relaxing into his body.

What are those holes in the sides of his head?

What do you think they are?

Can he hear me? Why aren’t his ears on the outside like mine?

Will he lick me?

He might.

Why did he lick me!

He is tasting you. He’s finding out who you are.

This bearded dragon, does he know how to fly?

Not yet.

Well, his mommy needs to teach him!

I ask him questions in front of the kids … Stripy, do you want some dandelion greens? Oh, you do!  Oh, Stripy, I can see you don’t want to be held right now. You want to move across the floor on your own!

I regularly give animacy to inanimate objects, too.

What is he saying now, Teacher Nikki?

What do you think he is saying?

Caring for animals helps us to build compassion. I want the kids to know that the animals are communicating with us, we just have to listen.

Sometimes, on my way home from work when I stop at Trader Joes, Stripy tells me that he doesn’t want to be left alone in the car, so I set him on my shoulder and he lies very still (but is supremely alert and watches everything) as I walk around the frozen foods and the wine aisles. Kids always notice him and want to connect. The crew usually notice him, too, and greet him with a wink. My sister, who likes animals but doesn’t have any, when I tell her about my experiences in Trader Joes with Stripy, says “Oh, Nik-Nac, you’ve become one of those people.”

And yes, I guess I have, it’s true. I have become that lady with the bearded dragon.

No, we are not supposed to have a lizard in a preschool -- because of the salmonella risk. However, I believe that risk is an inherent and natural consequence of childhood. Our preschoolers take turns on a broken seesaw that was homemade to begin with. They build with crates and cardboard boxes we scavenge from the furniture store on the corner. There is sometimes a sprinkling of nails in our sandbox. We have earthquakes here, and floods, and ice-storms.  Our children breathe harmful air from wildfires. We have lockdown drills to prepare us for potential active shooters in our schools – a little salmonella isn’t going to shut things down for us!

In my more than 30 years of teaching with animals, I have probably exposed thousands of children to salmonella. It will be okay. For those of you who are still worried, let me tell you a little story.

I hosted a special COVID sleepover for some school-age kids recently (the kids were all from the same pod) and when it was discovered that one child had forgotten to bring a tooth brush, I said, “that’s okay, just borrow someone’s toothpaste and brush with your finger.” I mimed a demonstration and all the kids made faces of disgust. “I would never brush my teeth with my finger,” I heard. “I put my fingers in my butt too much!”

We do wash our hands as often as possible.

[justmewoo]

Rest In Peace [ Tony Stark x Male Son Reader] One Shot

IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE LISTEN TO THE SONG UNTIL THE MIDDLE OF THE STORY. UNLESS YOU WANT TO LISTEN AND READ EVERYTHING AT THE SAME TIME IT'S UP TO YOU GUYS. IF YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO CONTINUED THIS STORY AND TURN IT INTO A MINI SERIES LET ME KNOW! I PLAN ON DOING FAR FROM HOME BUT LET ME KNOW!

THIS STORY IS 4.9K WORDS ENJOY! THIS WILL CONTAIN LOTS OF ANGST!

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Loki is gone.

Asgard got destroyed in Ragnarok.

Thor is gone with the guardians of the galaxy. 

Tony has died and Thanos is gone. 

Natasha risk her life to get the stone. 

Clint is back with his family after five painful years. 

Vision died protecting the soul stone. 

Bruce turned into the Hulk and combined both into one.

Scott and Hope became together and reunited with his daughter.

Steve went back in time to return all the infinity stones and retired been captain America.

Wanda is heartbroken at the lost of Vision and her brother. 

Sam is the new Captain America. 

Bucky is fighting alongside Sam. 

T'challa is back in Wakanda ruling his country with his people. 

Peter is living his life and protecting the city as Spider Man. 

Happy is helping Peter just the way Tony would have wanted to. But Peter is has gained a new ally.

Doctor Strange is back in New York keeping the Time stone safe and Wong is by his side. 

Pepper is raising Morgan with the help of the remaining team and me her step son. 

Valkyrie is the new queen of New Asgard. 

And I've become the new Iron Man of New York. 

To say it simply, everyone is still broken inside. No matter how much times passes we will never forget everything that's happened. 

These events didn't happen in that order but it's what I was told when I had return back to New York. I was only seventeen years old when the world when in chaos. Now as I return i'm a twenty one year old who's found out about his father's death and the marriage with his new wife who had given me a little sister. 

Dad wanted me out of the country and didn't want my life to be in danger for been Tony Stark's son. So I study abroad in Australia until I graduated from high school and somewhat graduated from college. When the snap happened I was given orders to stay put and not come back. So Happy flew to me in Australia to keep me company and out of trouble even though I wasn't a trouble maker. But, dad still wanted me to be safe. So when I found out about dad and Pepper having Morgan I was too busy to meet her. Over the course of five years, I was away in Australia trying to live a normal life again. It wasn't easy seen so many people disappear and turn into dust. Half of Australia was gone and things weren't how it used to be. I didn't even know either about my own dad been lost in space for weeks. I had to push through college with the rest of the college kids to continue our studies the best we all could do. 

I continued to keep in contact with dad and Pepper but never got a chance to meet Morgan in face only through pictures. But one day Pepper informed me about how dad and what had been left of the team were going to bring everyone back using time travel and that I had nothing to worried about. That same day when I got the call from Pepper it was early morning here when people had suddenly begun to reappear. From that moment on I had known everything must have been fine. But, deep inside me a sudden feeling of sadness suddenly hit me. While everyone was happy to be reunited again I was inside my house crying.

"You're father is dead." I could still hear those words echo inside my head to this day. Pepper had called Happy that morning when the fight against Thanos took place back in their compound. While everyone around me celebrated the coming back of their love ones. I had lost the person I most cared about. I couldn't be happy for anyone at least not at that moment. 

A few hours later here I am now standing in front of the cabinet in the middle of the woods wearing a black suit. I had wore my dad's watch and upgraded thanks to Happy's help. It was the one that armed one of his first suits but into a more modern kind. I also wore a pair of old black glasses that dad had given me when I left for Australia. I took a deep breath before I continued to make my way towards the cabinet to see everyone from the team and others were standing there watching as Pepper and Morgan with Steve walked towards the pond carrying the arc reactor Pepper gave my dad. 

In that instant, the only thing I wanted to do was yell and scream at the top of my lungs. But instead, I stood all the way in the back of the cabinet listening to the funeral and ceremony. Happy had gone with Pepper and Morgan to drop off the arc reactor on top of a big flower crown. I stood on the side with my back on the wall with arms crossed and head low. 

"Come on, [Male Name] you have to eat your vegetables." I was five years old at the moment. Dad was alone in the Stark Tower and it was dinner time. But I didn't want to eat the vegetables on my plate. I frowned shaking my head and crossing my small arms. 

"No, I hate vegetables! They taste bad! I want candy and donuts! My friends eat that every day so I want that too!" I yelled. 

Dad was not having it that day. He had been up all night the day before fixing his suits and was not happy about dealing with a screaming five year old. "Come on, squirt eat the vegetables they are good for you." He tried feeding me with his finger. 

"No daddy, I don't want to turn green like the hulk. Thor told me I will turn green from eating too many broccolis." I yelled in tears taking off running away from him. 

"Dammit Thor.. [Male Reader] come back! You won't turn green if you eat them!" That night I couldn't stop crying. It was silly but at the age of five you tend to believe everything adults tell you. So the only way I stopped crying was when he brought me some donuts with chocolate milk to eat for dinner. 

The next day when Thor was in the tower my dad had been rough on him even got yank by the ear and had made him apologize to me. "I'm so sorry young [Male Name] I should have never told you such lies. In fact, if you eat all of your vegetables everyday you will grow up to become strong and handsome like me." I giggled hugging him and dad. 

"I want to become like you and daddy!" From that day forward I always ate my vegetables but as I grew up. I knew that I was never going to become like them. But even so, I enjoyed eating them. 

 Listening to my father's memorial continued to bring more and more memories. All the moments we both shared together from the fights we had because of his work and health. There was this one time when Pepper had to bring him home drunk from one of his party's. I was about ten years old the first time I had talked back to him. 

It was way before my dad realized he loved my father and began to date. I still remember clearly when it happened. The day of the party was during a school night. He had promised me early in the morning before school about spending the day together before his party. But dad didn't keep his promise instead he sent Happy for me that day to school. "Dad, can we go eat a cheeseburger after school. They have new fries that are coming out today. Can we please go!" I beg him hugging his leg. 

Dad played with my hair picking me up. "Of course squirt, now come on you can't be late for school." Dad hurried me into the car. But before I got inside I took out my pinky looking straight at him. "Dad promise me you will take me after school." I said seriously.

Dad bends down to my height intertwining his pinky with mine. "I promise squirt." The whole day in school I couldn't stop thinking of spending the afternoon with him. I was in such a good mood that day that, I didn't mind getting a big project that day. 

But, boy was I wrong. That afternoon when Happy had picked me up from school. I was upset and angry at them both because Happy did not want to take me to eat a burger that day. So I didn't get to try the new fries with a cheeseburger that day. Happy said dad was in a meeting all day and wasn't coming home till night time because of the party he was having that night. I had to spend the whole day with Happy. Whenever I would stay with him it was always fun but that day I wasn't in the mood for anything. It wasn't until around eight at night when Steve had picked me up from Happy's. 

"Goodnight [Male Name]." I turn around not wanting to see his face anymore and buried my face in Steve's shoulder. Steve patted my back and carried my backpack and jacket. "Goodnight Happy come on, let's get going." I got inside Steve's car and road all the way home in silence except for the radio that was playing old music. 

On the way home I decided to break the silence." Steve, why do you listen to music from the old days?" I asked sitting in the back seat looking out the window. 

"Well.... because I was born back in the old day but got frozen for many years. So this music reminds me of the good old days I once used to live." 

"I see..... Steve if you had a son about my age would you break a pinky promise and disappoint your only son?" I asked looking at him. 

Steve got taken back by the sudden question taking a few seconds to respond back. "Of course, I wouldn't sport if I had a son your age I would never break a promise especially a pinky promise. Those are extremely important and must not be broken. But you have to understand that your dad is Iron Man so he has a big responsibility with the community and needs to attend events. But that doesn't mean he does not care about you [Male Reader]." 

I frowned in silence thinking about what he had just said. After we arrived at the Tower that night Steve helped me changed into my pajamas and checked my teeth for cavities. Steve had tucked me in bed and read me a bedtime story so I could fall asleep while dad was gone. He even stook around a few minutes until I fell asleep which unfortunately lasted only about three hours. It was around past midnight when I heard sounds coming from downstairs.

 

"JARVIS who's downstairs," I whispered half asleep to him. 

"It appears to be Mr. Stark and Miss Potts who have arrived at the Tower. Would you like me to inform them about you waking up?" 

I shook my head. "No, don't tell them anything." I yawned laying back to sleep but the bit of anger I still had kept me awake. Hearing noises still coming from downstairs I decided to confront my dad about today. 

I got up from my bed running towards my bedroom door and quietly closed the door behind me and ran quietly through the hallways until I reached the elevator. Once the elevators door opened I went inside and pressed the button for downstairs and patiently waited. As the doors open my dad and Pepper appear before my eyes. Both were wearing fancy clothing. But as I took a look at my dad I could tell he was very drunk. I could smell the odor from all the alcohol he's drank all night. 

"Is this the example you give me?" I yelled at him. He was caught off guard smiling big when he saw me walking towards their direction. Dad walked over to me embracing me into a hug. I quickly escaped from been hug and ran behind Pepper. "Hey, bud what you doing up so late huh? Where you waiting for me all night to get home." He said. 

I continued to his behind Pepper. "Of course not dad, i'm angry at you because you didn't pick me up from school. You broke your pinky promise!" I said pointing a finger at him.

"Don't be so harsh on me [Male Name] you are hurting my feelings.... I know tomorrow I will buy you anything you want. How does that sound? Better yet, no school for you tomorrow." 

"Tony! You can't do that what kind of example are you giving him. Please, don't listen to anything of this tomorrow I will take you to the burger place we can both go together." 

"Thank you, Pepper you are the best. Dad, I hate you! I don't want to live with you anymore!" I yelled running towards the elevator. Dad called my name but I didn't want to hear anything from him. That night I had sneaked into Natasha's room to sleep in. I quietly opened her room and snuggled with her in the giant bed she had. The next morning she was surprised to see me fall asleep in her bed. 

Nat didn't question why I had barged into her room until the next morning. I had explained everything that happened and how I didn't want to sleep alone in my room by myself. She was so kind that Nat helped me get ready for school and was going to talk to my dad about the argument from last night. 

In the morning after getting ready Pepper had arrived early to take me to school because I didn't want to see Happy either. "Behave good in school I will be here waiting for you to pick you up so we can go eat together." 

I hugged her feeling better. "Okay, I promise to come out super fast so we can go eat and play all day." I ran away from her waving goodbye as I walked inside the school. Later that day, when I came out of school I didn't see Pepper anywhere. I looked everywhere in the school entrance but she wasn't here. Until, a few minutes later when dad came to the front gate running towards me. I was feeling confused about why he was picking me up instead of Pepper like she promise she would. 

"Why are you here? Where's Pepper she promise she would pick me up." I half yell feeling angry again. 

"Pepper's here squirt she's waiting in the car with Happy. I came with her so we can both take you to eat burgers." He said ruffling my hair. I removed his hand from my head frowning. 

"I don't want to go anymore, I want to go home." I turned around facing him with my back and arms crossed feeling angry. 

Dad didn't say anything but instead carried me on his back taking off running to the car. He hadn't carried me like this since I was five years old. So all the anger went away and instead giggles came out of my mouth. That day was the happiest day of my life. He spoiled me and bought me everything I wanted including take out food for dinner. And all of the deserts I wanted to eat but it was a bad idea to get everything off the menu. Pepper had lectured him for spoiling me and the big stomach ache I have gotten. But it was all worth it because I had gotten to spend the whole day with the people I love in this world. 

I hadn't noticed that the ceremony was done until I felt my pants been tug by a small hand. That's when I realized I had tears running down my face. But, it was barely seen by others because of the black shades I was wearing. I looked down and saw it was Morgan wearing a black dress with her hair down looking up at me. As I looked down my glance had suddenly drifted to the lake but I saw everyone looking my way with sad eyes. Pepper was the first to speed walk my way. I looked down at Morgan and carried her in my arms meeting Pepper halfway. We embraced each other along with Morgan. Pepper looked at me with sad eyes and a small smile. "I'm so sorry you couldn't see him alive again." 

"Nonsense, there's no need of apologizing. I was able to talk with him the day of their plan to bring everyone back. He told me there would be a chance that something would happen. So I understood that it was possible something bad would have happened to him and he was right." I said hugging Pepper again. "I promise to take care of you and Morgan." I gave each a kiss and wiped her tears away with my thumb. I hugged both one more time before walking away. But Pepper had given me directions of something dad left me to see. 

We stood for a few minutes like that until slowly the team was coming forward one by one giving me their support and apologizes for what happened. As I talked with everyone Morgan went with Happy on the porch. I have to admit been surrounded by the team and new recruits made me feel home. I got to meet the guardians of the galaxy, Doctor Strange, Scott Lang, and his team. I was finally able to meet Peter Parker and his aunt. Furry and Maria where here as well. I was finally able to see Bruce again but turned into the Hulk. I saw the damaged on his arm from using the gauntlet that brought everyone back. I saw Clint and finally met his three children and wife. I also met Bucky and Wanda who had joined the team. The king of Wakanda with his mother and sister were here too. Everyone in the team was shocked at how grown i've looked. The last time they saw me I was sixteen and now that i'm twenty one they were shocked at how much I have changed. 

When I met Peter Parker he's reaction was something I was not expecting. The moment I introduced myself to him Peter almost fell down on the ground if it wasn't for his aunt's help. "Are, you alright?" I asked concerned. 

Peter nodded. I offered my hand towards him too shake. As we shook hands he couldn't help but stare at me. As if he has seen a ghost or something worse. "Yeah..... yeah, I'm fine it's just.... you look a lot like Mr. Stark."

I half smiled at him. "You think so, my dad told me a lot about you, Peter. I know you spent a lot of time together with my dad... I have to admit I was a bit jealous always hearing about you." Peter frowned confused and guilty. "Wait before you ask anything let me finish what I want to say. I did get jealous of you because all I heard was Peter this, Spiderman that but either way, i'm grateful for everything you did. I know you and I aren't related but now that I have a family to protect. There's a lot of things I need to learn so maybe if you help me train I can help you with making new suits and gadgets. How does that sound? I know that i'm not my father but I don't want all of his efforts to go to waste."

Peter and his aunt both looked at one another then back at me accepting my offer. "Yes! I- I mean of course I accept your offer."

"Great. I'll contact you so wait for my call." I patted his back making way towards the cabinet seen Morgan sitting down next to Happy. I passed by them ruffling her hair before opening the door and shutting it behind me. I took a look around at my surroundings before I seeing my dad's helmet sit in a small table. I finally took the decision of taking off the sunglasses. I walked towards the helmet carrying it in my hands. I took a seat on the couch with both hands wrapped around the helmet. 

There was a small button on the back of the helmet. Pepper said to push on it so that the recording of him could play. I took a deep breath before pressing the button and set it back down on the small table. A sudden blue light appeared and so did dad. He was sitting down on a chair before standing up walking in front of me. "Dad." I whispered watching his every move.

[Play the music] 

"I know that by now you must be seeing this and probably blaming yourself for what happened to me. But, I should be the one blaming myself for sending you away to the other side of the world. I still remember the day you were born. I was a mess when your mother told me she was pregnant with you. I was also nervous when Pepper told me she was pregnant with Morgan. Becoming a father is easy enough, but being one can be very rough. Fathers provide not only support but also encouragement words to their children. Now, that i'm gone your sister and Peter will need someone to guide them. I know you're only twenty one but and it's a lot to handle but please look after them. You are my son that to my father I could never be. My father didn't tell me how to live, he lived and let me watch him do it. I promise myself never to become the type of father he was.  

"Dad you're someone to look up to no matter how tall i've grown. I won't let her forget about you never."Tears began to fall down my cheeks. 

"I want you to forgive me for leaving and not being able to be there for you when and if you need me, but I want you to know one thing above all else. I love you so much that I can't describe the feelings that I'm going through." I want you to grow up into a young man and be a success at whatever you attempt to do. The time that I did spend with you was a wonderful and enjoyable time in my life and you helped make it that way. This is very hard for me to say because I kept crying every time I tried to record this, knowing that I will not be here when you are seeing this. The sadness keeps overwhelming me and tears are flowing down my face. I'm so very proud of you and you have shown me just how smart you are all ready. I expect you to grow and be able to use your head to think things out and to be able to ask questions if you don't understand something. I want you to face life and the problems that it gives you a positive outlook because if you think of the bright things in life, it makes the bad things not so bad after all! You are a beautiful and smart boy and I wish you all the luck and good fortune a person could ever want or need. I left you all of my suits and tools in the garage. Use those to protect this city but, more importantly, use them to protect Pepper and your sister."

"I love you 3000."

Dad smiled one last time until the image disappeared. I clenched my hands in disperse the black sunglasses rested in my left hand. I could see my reflection through the black lenses. My eyes were filled with watery eyes puffy and red from all the crying i've done just listening to his message. I looked down at the old watch on my wrist. I stood up from the couch and walked over to the window taking a look outside. I wiped the tears away from eyes and put back on my glasses. Seen everyone still sticking around with sad faces in the cabinet gave me an idea. I smiled for the first time in days looking up at the ceiling nodding to myself. "I know what to do."

After a few minutes of staying in silence, I took the decision of walking outside with them. I quietly opened the door walking out in silence. Happy and Morgan were no longer by the porch. I took a deep breath before making the decision to speak in a loud voice. "I know this is going to sound crazy coming from a twenty one year old who's now old enough to drink." Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened. "But my goal doesn't stop for anyone. Either you support me or I make it happen alone. Either way, it is going to happen. Those were my father's words, and I couldn't help but remember them this very second. The reason why I remember those words is because it was the last thing he told me over the phone. I didn't have a clue on what he meant but now I do." I said looking at everyone. My tone went from friendly to serious. "My father ended his life for the sake of this planet I, won't let his sacrifice be in vain. I thought this through and will keep the promise he asked me to keep. Ladies and gentlemen, you are all looking at the new Iron Man. This planet will never and I say NEVER will have another life be lost. This place will never be invaded by another villain ever. Because as long as i'm around there won't be any more deaths. I'm not only representing my father in his honor, but im also here representing Natasha, Vision, and Loki." I said proudly hugging Pepper and carrying Morgan on my shoulders. I could see the proud faces of Steve, Thor, Clint, Wanda, Rhodey, Bruce, Happy, Furry, and Pepper. I looked over to Peter who watched quietly. "The scared twenty one year you saw earlier today is gone. Whoever wants to join my team and I is welcome to participate. But from now on there won't be any more pain or suffering." 

"[Male Reader] your dad would be so proud of you." Steve said sending a nod at me. 

"Where ever they are I'm sure they're all proud of you." Wanda said. 

"I made a promise to take care of my family. And that includes everyone here I know with their help from up there we will be fine. Now with both of my parents up there together I know for a fact they won't let anything bad happen to me or to everyone close to me." I answered truthfully. I placed Morgan back on the ground handed her my dad's sunglasses and step away far from them. I clicked on the button of the watch activating the black and gold suit of armor I had created back in Australia. It was a replica of my dad's suit he used back in 2015 except with a new model and color. It had both names of my parents carved in with black ink on the back of the helmet. The suit unfolded it's self as I flew a few feet off the ground. I pressed a button on the left corner of the helmet so the helmet could open revealing my face and stared down at everyone from above. 

I looked everywhere smirking until my eyes landed on Peter." This is your chance, Peter let's go there's stuff you need to learn." I said rising up to the sky. Peter looked at his aunt. "Can I go, I won't be home late." 

His aunt May push the excited fifteen year old. Surprisingly Peter was wearing his Spider Man suit under his black suit. Peter took off running my direction revealing his suit and mask. "Be careful Peter, bring him back safe [Male Reader]" Aunt May yelled. 

"I will May! Anyone else wants to join us? I have room for more if anyone is up for it. Rhodey, Thor, Guardians of the galaxy, Doctor Strange? I know about your power." I flew further into the sky as Peter swings on his spider webs. I pressed the button again closing the helmet. 

This brought smiles to everyone. "You're crazy Stark." Thor yelled. 

"Just be careful come back safe you here me." Pepper yelled. "How are you even flying that thing." She asked carrying Morgan in her arms. 

"We'll be careful, A Stark never reveals his secrets. Morgan, I'll bring you tons of cheeseburgers for dinner!" I smiled under my helmet waving goodbye to everyone. "Let's go, Parker!" 

"I'm right behind you Mr. Stark I mean [Male Name].... you have a nice name sir." As we flew further away from the forest and into the sky I couldn't help but see my father smiling down at us. 

"Thanks, Peter but, just call me [Male Name]."

@art-estrange

[catchester]

12 Days of Christmas

Title: Epiphany 

Authors: @evieplease​​​​ and @catchester​​​​

Which character: Actor!Tom and OFC Rocky

Genre: Humour/Explicit

Fic Summary: Tom and Rocky spend their first Christmas as a couple and Rocky meets Tom’s Mum for the first time. Expect 12 gifts, too much boozy, bad puns and lots of fun!

Rating: Mature

Previous Chapters: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17138390/chapters/40304798

Epiphany 

I’m not much of a cook. I mean, I can feed myself but that cordon bleu shit is way out of my wheelhouse. I don’t really have the time or patience for it anyway. Tom beats me like a drum in the cooking stakes, but if there’s one thing I can cook perfectly, it’s a steak. 

I also make wonderful, fat chips—twice cooked so they’re lovely and crispy outside, but fluffy inside. And I’ve mastered a couple of sauces, but creamy pepper is Tom’s favourite, so we’ll be having that.

I’d also bought a little bit of broccoli to ‘show willing’, as my gran used to say. It was an afterthought, but it looks pretty on the plate, so. . .

Normally I’d cook a ribeye but tonight I was going all out and had bought three, fat, juicy sirloin steaks. I was salivating just thinking about them. 

I’d even bought a new dress, a little red dress—a nice companion for my overworked little black dress. I kind of love it. It’s figure hugging, but with a little flirty flare at the hem, and an almost exact match for my crimson Sephora lip stain. Looks great with my boots too. And I know that Tom will appreciate the back view. Just wearing the thing made me want to wiggle my arse for him!

I’d spent much of the day in my workshop, which is just a fancy way of saying the garage I rent near my flat that I store my spares and heavier equipment in. I knew I was pushing things time wise, but I was nervous, okay?

The fresh layer of snow didn't help matters, snarling up traffic and meaning my errand took twice as long as it should have. 

I ended up having to leave my chips boiling while I got ready, and kept darting back to poke them with a knife. I was damn lucky I didn't overcook them and end up with mash, but somehow I didn’t. 

I had just slid into my new dress when the buzzer went, and I scrambled to do the zip up before Tom and Diana reached my front door. 

I didn’t quite make it, and had to greet Diana with my bra strap hanging out. Luckily Tom spotted my predicament and zipped me up the rest of the way, but not before Diana commented on how chilly I must be! But I got a kiss on the back of my neck from Tom, so it’s all good.

My flat might only be two bedrooms, but it was pretty spacious. I’d improved it a lot over the last five years and it was worth a small fortune thanks to London prices. I would never have been able to afford a flat in London if not for my Dad. Growing up, we’d lived in a council house, which Dad bought at a vastly reduced rate back in the 80s when Right to Buy came in. As such, his small mortgage was long paid off, and the prices had skyrocketed over the years, so when all three of his kids had flown the coop, he sold the four bedroom place and bought two flats in the same estate, but different blocks. 

We’d drawn up a contract and when I reached what he’d paid for it, he’d transfer ownership to me, or it would come to me on his death, whichever came first. My brothers would get his larger flat to share between them. Good luck to ‘em! Those boys haven’t agreed on anything but the MCU since they were ten and twelve, and I can just about predict the rows they’ll have deciding to renovate or sell Dad’s place. I plan on sitting back and enjoying the show.

One of my improvements to my place was to knock down the wall between the living room and kitchen. Where the wall used to be I kept a narrow, oblong table that folded out into one that could comfortably seat four. My extra folding chairs were kept in a cupboard. In my defence, they’re very nice folding chairs and I have cushions I can tie on… 

How naff. I’d hang my head in shame, but I know Diana will appreciate the irony.

Thank god I hadn't had time to worry like this earlier, or they’d likely have arrived to find me sloshed again! Speaking of which... 

“Can I get you a drink?” I asked, my stomach swooping, suddenly realising I should have picked up an extra bottle of wine! Bollocks! Wait, didn’t I have a nice one Tom bought as a gift a few months ago lurking at the back of a cupboard somewhere? I’d have to get it in the fridge ASAP. 

“I don't have any red wine, I’m afraid, only rosé.” I worried my lip. I’m not really a fan of red wine,  but red meat goes with red wine, and Diana would know that! 

“Oh lovely, I like a nice rosé.” Diana to the rescue! God, I love that woman. She’s so polite. 

I did find the bottle Tom had brought around before. It too was pink, but it was prosecco, not wine. Aah well, maybe that would work better as a dessert wine. Or, with luck, a fizzy celebration wine. I put it in the top of the fridge and opened the cold bottle of rosé. 

“Here you go.” I handed them each a glass, but decided to have a beer myself so the wine would go further. I did decant my bottle contents into a tall glass for a change though because I’m at least attempting to be civilised tonight. 

“You have a lovely home,” Diana said as I sat down on my L-shaped unit. It was a bargain I’d found on freecycle then re-upholstered, but it was a quality piece and looked expensive. 

It’s not that I can’t afford a new sofa, even an expensive one—my business does well and my rent to my Dad is whatever I want to pay him. I pay quite a lot because I want him to get his investment in the flat back quickly, but he wouldn't mind at all if I took a whole year off payments because he trusts me. Plus, he’s semi retired now so all he does is answer the phones and do the books, for which he claims 30% of the profits. He started the business so I don’t begrudge him, and it means he isn't desperate for my rent as his income. 

The real reason I upcycled my sofa is that she had such lovely bones, and I love crafty activities. After the renovations on the flat were done, I’d set about finding pieces I could give new life to. My bed mattress was brand new, but the headboard was second hand and recovered in a print to compliment the aqua and white paint in there. I’d stripped the old varnish off the wood parts and stained it new.

I asked Diana about the exhibition she was going to see and she explained it was actually a workshop where she’d be learning something called blackwork embroidery. I’d gathered from looking around her home that she was quite arty, but I hadn’t realised she enjoyed crafting too. It was nice to know we had something in common and I told her about a couple of my projects in the flat. I even told her the story of stapling my finger to the sofa she was sitting on, the very first time I used an upholstery gun, and she told me about some of her past projects. 

After topping up their glasses, I began preparing the meal, but I could still chat to them as I worked. They wanted their steaks medium, which everyone defines differently but after some probing I determined that they liked it red inside, but not bloody cold, which was my preference too. Okay, maybe I like mine a little bloody, but it went on the skillet only 60 seconds after theirs. 

I served my very fat chips in a sort of jenga tower with the middle bricks missing, being very careful not to wipe my greasy fingers on my red dress,  then the steaks, a very healthy dollop of peppercorn sauce, and the broccoli topped with a knob of butter on the side. 

“You led me to believe you weren’t a very good cook,” Diana gently chided me as we ate. 

“I’m not,” I assured her. “I know how to cook, like, three things really well, this, lasagne, and a cheesecake, which we’re having for desert. Everything else falls somewhere between okay and inedible.” 

“Do not ask her to cook fish,” Tom winked at me conspiratorially.

I laughed. He’d once said something about liking salmon, so I got a recipe and tried to cook it for him. It was all new to me, the only fish Dad or the boys would eat came from the fish and chips shop down the corner. Unfortunately no matter what I did the stuff tasted like dirt! Very fishy dirt! I ended up over seasoning, then overcooking it so much that it dried out and it really was inedible. 

And it still tasted like dirt!

We’d ordered a curry instead. 

“Well, these potatoes are amazing, you must give me the recipe,” Diana told me, smiling warmly at me. 

It wasn't hard, so I explained it to her as we ate. 

As well as complimenting me, Diana ooh’d and ah’d as she ate. Tom just ate steadily as if afraid someone might nick his plate if he slowed down, glancing up at me with a warm appreciative smile now and then, so I think they genuinely liked it. 

Good, Diana would probably not like it if I poisoned her boy. 

Talk of the salmon disaster naturally led onto other food related disasters, and I quickly learned I was in good company. 

“Do you remember when you left some steaks out to defrost?” Tom asked his mum. 

Apparently their neighbour’s cat had neatly chewed away all but the rind of fat while they were in the garden. Then there was the story of a time they’d been visiting a friend, and another friend’s dog had eaten the shepherd’s pie they were to be served! 

The Guinness pie was my favourite story though. It was apparently a steak pie made with Guinness gravy, that Diana loved as a child. It was her father’s recipe, basically the only thing he cooked, and then only once or twice a year, on special occasions. She swore she followed the recipe her father gave her to the letter but it was awful. 

“Turned my stomach, honestly,” she admitted, turning pink even after all these years. 

Tom was grinning. “She served us all first, then she realised she’d forgotten the pot of English mustard and told us to all tuck in. Well we did, and there’s me, my sisters and my dad just looking at each other. We all knew she’d spent all day on this and was really looking forward to it. None of us had the heart to tell her we couldn't eat it. She came back and we all plastered smiles on and told her how wonderful it was, while helping ourselves to carrots.”

“That should have been my first clue,” Diana laughed. “Honestly, you’d have thought this one was allergic to vegetables, given how hard he tried to avoid them, and there he was larding his plate with carrots!”

“Then she took one mouthful and her face just turned grey,” Tom laughed. Diana reached out and playfully smacked his shoulder.

“I still tried it a second and third time, in case I’d made a mistake, although I didn't make the family try it. I thought that perhaps the stout needed to marinate longer, or be cooked at a higher temperature so it burned off, but each attempt was just as inedible as my first bite. My father was adamant that he’d given me the exact recipe he used. I gave up in  the end and concluded that he must have substituted something else for the stout, possibly something like cider. I’ve tried other recipes with cider gravy over the years but never quite managed to replicate the same taste.”

I cleared the plates from the table but everyone wanted a little break before desert, which was fine with me. 

“Has Tom told you about our 12 days gifts?” I asked Diana as I grabbed a box from a kitchen drawer.

Suddenly I had a sort of out of body experience where I was watching myself sit with Tom and his mum, I must be mad for even considering what I was about to do...

“He’s told me all about it,” she grinned. “What a lark! It sounds like you had great fun.”

“We did, but more than that, those gifts, specifically the thought Tom had put into his, had really brought home how much he cares for me.” 

I handed Diana a gift box, about 6 inches by four, and maybe two deep. It wasn't wrapped but I had done it up in a fancy ribbon. Eventually she freed it from it’s ribbon prison and opened the lid. 

There in the middle, nestling among some tissue paper (which was hiding some printer paper because I didn't have enough tissue paper, and I wasn’t using bog paper) sat a ring box. 

“This looks interesting,” she murmured, reaching for the ring box.

I could hardly hear her over the hammering of my heart, and I couldn’t look at Tom. My hands were sweating, and my leg was jittering under the table.

As I got off my chair, my knees were trembling but I managed to move beside Diana’s chair before I collapsed to my knees. I barely made eye contact with Tom, who looked curious. 

“It’s a. . . a ring?” 

I had found an incredible rose gold, tungsten ring with a gorgeous burl wood inlay for Tom. I thought it would look warm and elegant on his left hand. It’s unusual, but once I saw it, I couldn’t even look at any bog standard men’s wedding bands. I hope he likes it. Diana’s finger traced thoughtfully over the design, so I think she liked it.

Diana looked up at me, eyebrows up and questions in her eyes. I shuffled around, less gracefully than I’d like until I was on one knee before her, in the traditional pose of a proposer. 

I desperately wanted to look at Tom to see his reaction but I didn’t dare. I’d lose my bottle, if I did...

I took the ring box from her, but I was shaking so much I had to hold it with both hands. I cleared my throat, and sternly ordered myself not to tear up out of sheer nerves.

“This last year taught me a lot about Tom and our relationship, and I suppose you could say I’d had an epiphany about how much your son has come to mean to me. With that in mind, Diana, I..” My voice cracked and I had to clear it and try again.  “I wonder if you would do me the honour of becoming my Mother-in-Law? 

The next three seconds seemed to last an hour. Diana’s mouth opened in surprise as she stared down at the ring. Not unpleasantly surprised, but, oh god, she also wasn't answering me... 

I shouldn't have done it this way, I shouldn't have brought Diana into this. I’d just thought it was a funny and quirky way to include her, but of course, she couldn't answer for Tom. This was such a stupid idea! 

I saw Diana’s gaze flick in Tom’s direction and still couldn’t look at him. I kept my eyes steady on hers and wished the ground would open up to swallow me whole. Hell, it could take my whole apartment, as long as this nightmare stopped! 

I could feel my eyes pricking with tears of humiliation. I should have got drunk again, then I’d probably be passed out and unable to make a fool of myself. Again. I lifted my chin and grabbed courage with both hands, waiting for the verdict.

Suddenly there was an arm around my shoulder and I realised Tom was kneeling beside me. 

“Please, Mum, say yes!” 

I’ve never felt so much relief as when I heard him say that. I swayed on my knees and my surroundings spun briefly as all the air seemed to rush back into the room.

Diana’s hand moved to her chest, patting it as if she’d had heart palpitations, her eyes twinkling down at me.

“Well I don’t know…” she deliberately drew out her response, the tease! “Don’t you think this is... awfully sudden, dear?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. What was she on about? She looked just exactly like Tom when he was about to spring a horrible pun on me, the same sly little smile lurking about her lips. 

“I’m trying to think what those vows would be... ‘Do you, Rocky, take this woman, Diana, as your Awful Wedded Mother-in-Law? To poke and to prod, to stick her nose in where it isn’t wanted, and to generally make herself a pain in your arse? So help you baby Jesus?’

I grinned. Yep, I definitely wanted her! Tom choked beside me, laughing.

“Diana, that is exactly what I had in mind!” I nodded my head hard, my hair bouncing wildly around my head. “So, um, will you?”

Diana reached down and carefully pulled a strand of hair from my mouth, tenderly tucking it behind my ear, her eyes softened into the exact shade Tom’s get. Her hand cupped my cheek gently.

“Yes Rocky, I’d be delighted to be your Mother-in-Law.” she said softly. I heard Tom’s breath gust out in relief beside me. I knelt up, throwing my arms around her and squeezing hard. “Thank you,” I whispered into her hair. I cleared my throat, because I was not going to cry on Tom’s mum.

Diana put her hands on my arms, gently pushing me away, her eyes going behind me.

“I think there’s someone who wants his turn…”

Before I could even look his way, Tom had pulled me onto his thighs, wrapping his arms around me tightly and hugging me hard. One hand went into my hair and pulled my face up to his. There were tears in his eyes, and a crooked smile on his lips.

“Yes please, Rocky.”

Then he was kissing me fiercely, and by god, I was giving back, my hands clutching his shirt.

“Ahem…” Diana cleared her throat. I pulled away from Tom long enough to glance round at her.

“But you said I could have him!” I grumbled at her, hiding my elated laugh. Her eyes laughed right back at me.

“Yes dear, but not right now, if you please! I believe I was promised cheesecake!”

***

We put Diana in a cab back to Tom’s for the night, hugs and kisses all around. She even pinched my cheek! Tom and I stood, arms around each other’s waists, waving goodbye to her as she drove off 

“What would you have done if she’d said ‘no’?” Tom’s tone was slyly curious as we made our way back up the stairs to my second floor flat. I blanched.

“Died of humiliation?” Even thinking of the possibility gave me cold shivers. But Tom had slid to his knees next to me.

“What would you have done?” I turned my face up to his, wondering if he’d have gone along with his mum. Tom scowled.

“Rocky, you know I love my mum. But I’d have told her to…” Tom stalled out as he considered his words. I cocked my head, waiting.

“I’d have told her to bugger off,” said the very civilised, posh idiot. I gasped, only then realising that I’d been holding my breath. 

“But Rocky,” Tom stopped before the door to my flat and raised my chin to look into my eyes. “That was never going to happen, my love. Because Mum loves me, and she knows I love you. Also,” he grinned, “Mum likes you. And now she finds you very engaging.”

Well shit. My eyes teared up at least as much from the sentiment as from the pun. I stood on my toes and kissed him.

Tom opened my door and ushered me in, turning to close the door behind us. When he turned back, I pushed him against it, holding him there with a hand in the center of  his chest.

My other hand slid down his torso to the waistband of his trousers, flicking the button open and sliding the zip down, ratcheting slowly.

I stared into his eyes, watching them darken from their Caribbean blue to steel, the creases at the corners of his eyes tightening.

“Rocky…” he breathed.

“Shhh…” I replied, slipping my hand into his trousers to grasp him. The posh idiot never wore pants, which was calculated to make me rethink the ‘posh’ part. Somehow, knowing that he was bare behind that zipper made me hard.

When my hand encountered all that hard, silky steel. Practically leaping into my hand, I could feel my pussy clench in sheer anticipation. I wanted that hard cock inside me, like, yesterday! 

Oh wait. It was inside me yesterday!

I wrapped my hand carefully and firmly around his shaft, my thumb extending over his bell end to protect him from any chance zip or harsh denim scraping against that tender, sensitive tip.

I like that cock. I wasn’t going to allow it to be hurt on my watch! Besides, if it was going to be mine for the rest of my natural life, forsaking all others, it was in my best interest to see to its proper care and feeding!

My hand tightened around him, just thinking what I wanted to feed it into. Tom lifted a hand and set it onto the column of my throat. I swallowed, feeling my throat move against his palm.

Tom’s head was tilted down watching me as I blindly explored his cock with my hand, palming his length and running my fingertips up his shaft, all the way to the edge of his foreskin. I ran my finger around the rim, gently pushing it down and freeing the vulnerable, delicate bit of skin right beneath his cock head.

I lifted my forefinger, dipping it into the drop of precome waiting there for me, dropping down and letting my finger glide around the edge of his foreskin on the slick fluid, being sure to slide over the tender skin of his bell. How can something so soft be so hard?

I think of myself as hard, but I’m soft for Tom. Really, the only thing to do is to make him mine. Thank god he said yes. Or…

“Um…”  I cleared my throat as I continued to glide my finger over him. “You did say yes, didn’t you? I mean, you get that having your mum as my mother-in-law actually entails you marrying me, right?” I lifted my eyes and searched his.

The blue of his eyes softened. His nose nuzzled below my ear.

“I do, Rocky. And yes, I will.”

All the air left my body and my fingers clenched on him, one hand on his chest, my nails digging into his skin, the other around his cock.

Tom hissed, and his hips shot forward into my fist, forcing his cock through the tight ring of my fingers.

“God, Rocky…” he groaned, his hands moving into my hair, thumbs on my jaw as he leaned down to kiss me roughly.

I stroked that silky smooth, incredibly hard length against my palm. Tom tore his mouth away, breaking our kiss and breathing hard. I took my opportunity to slip to my knees in front of him.

“Rocky...you don’t have-” He gasped.

“Tom,” I said sharply, “if you finish that sentence with ‘don’t have to suck my cock’, I might do you an injury!”

I squeezed his shaft, just to be clear what part might be injured.

“Right,” Tom gasped, “carry on, then.” He swallowed audibly hard, his hands clenching in my hair.

I grinned cheekily at him. “Don’t mind if I do!”

I dragged my free hand down his torso, firmly pushing his back against the door. I took a quick swipe at him with my tongue from stalk to tip and grinned up at him.

“I do what I want!”

I wrapped my lips around the head and gave a suck, swirling my tongue tip over and around the head.

I felt Tom’s deep throated groan vibrate through his body and onto my tongue. Stopping for a second, I looked up at him, for once with no quip on the tip of my tongue.

“I love you, Tom.”

Tom’s eyes completely dilated and he thrust into my fist, his cockhead pushing between my lips, and suddenly he was coming against my mouth. 

My hand pumped over his cock, squeezing and pulling his climax from him, licking his come from around my lips and working the rest out in hot ropes onto my neck and chest.

Tom made a tortured noise, his hands clenching in my hair and hips thrusting helplessly. I gentled my hand, holding it still and warm over his softening shaft as he panted above me.

“Rocky…”

I tore my eyes away from the sight softening in my hand and looked up.

“You undo me, my love.”

His hands moved to my arms and lifted me to stand, wrapping his arms and body around me like a loving cloak.

I nuzzled my nose into the patch of hair in the center of his chest.

“Love you, Tom,” I murmured into his skin, speaking directly to his thumping heart. The arms around me tightened.

“Come along. I have something for you.”

“I hope it’s a hot flannel!”

Tom snickered and trod across the room into the kitchen, dragging me to the sink and wetting a tea towel. He wiped us both clean, and tossed the towel on the side.

He’d left his tablet on the table. Pulling a chair out, he sat, tugging me down onto his lap. He reached for the tablet.

I was wondering if he planned to treat me to porn, or puppies. I never know with Tom, which is of course, one of the things I love about him. He swiftly swiped through a few screens and brought up a file.

“Here, what do you think?” He pushed the tablet into my hands and set his chin on my shoulder, looking over me at the screen.

My hand flew to my mouth, fingers trembling over it as I stared down at a page of gorgeous, conflict free, diamond engagement rings.

“I didn’t want to choose one without you, and I honestly didn’t know what sort you’d like, since you never wear rings or other jewelry,” Tom murmured.

My hand dropped down to the partridge in a pear tree necklace Tom had given me on the First Day of Christmas. 

“Except your partridge,” he acknowledged. “But I chose that, so I really have no idea what your taste in jewelry is.

I was speechless as Tom slowly scrolled through several pages of rings, all sorts, my eyes filling as it finally dawned on me that Tom had been planning to ask me, or was at least thinking about it, when a teardrop landed on the screen. His arm stole around my waist as he turned his head and kissed my neck.

I sniffled, slightly embarrassed, and let out a watery laugh.

“What’s funny, love?”

I sniffled again. “I got engaged today, and here you are, making me cry.”

Tom chuckled.

“Though it might just be PMS.” 

Tom lifted his head with a great shout of laughter. “Oh darling, with you it’s probably the entire alphabet!” Tom teased.

He brought up another page, this time with rubies and sapphires and such. My breath caught at a dark red, square cut stone with two smaller, smokey coloured square cut stones set on either side, all swirled about in a fanciful gold setting. It was stunning,

I reached out a finger and touched it. The image changed, showing other angles of the ring.

“Ooh, I like that one!” Tom wriggled a bit under me in his enthusiasm. “You like coloured stones? Unusual settings? So much better than boring old diamonds, don’t you think? Bloody marvelous, aren’t they?”

I nodded, my throat tight. I hadn’t even given any thought to a ring for me, yet. 

“Tom, I must tell you though, it’s unlikely that I’ll wear it much. With my job, my hands are in and out of all sorts of muck…”

“That’s alright then.” Tom hugged me. “There are plenty of times that I can’t wear jewelry on my job, too. On stage or filming, and so forth. We’ll just have to work out a routine for taking them off before going to work, and putting them back on when we get home. Think of it as putting on and taking off your shoes, only in reverse!”

My head spun with all the things that we haven’t talked about. Oh my god, I don’t know how to throw a wedding! Budget, guest list, venue, flowers, bridesmaids, grooms men,  catering, open or closed bar, the dress… the list seemed endless and I knew I was probably forgetting a dozen other things. 

“I guess there’s still loads of things to work out before we do this thing, right?”

“We can take as long as we need,” he soothed, sensing my unease. “And if we want, there are people we can hire who take care of the organisation.” 

“Okay,” I took a deep breath and tried to relax. “As long as you don’t expect me to look like some giant, frothy meringue.” 

“Never,” he laughed. “And if you get one of those dresses with a thousand pearly buttons down the back, expect them to get torn off on the wedding night.”

The idea of being torn out of my wedding dress actually turned me on a little. Is that bad? 

“Oh, you like that idea,” Tom purred. 

“It’s not the worst idea I’ve heard.”

“Well I’ll have to practice,” he told me, his face the picture of sincerity. “We’ll start easy, maybe try ripping a robe off, then we’ll graduate to t-shirts and shirt-shirts and before you know it’ I’ll be ready to destroy your wedding dress in my haste to get to you.” 

“Or,” I said, holding a finger up as I presented my counter argument, “You could just destroy me right now and I’ll wear a white string bikini on the wedding day.” 

“Only if I get to wear white speedos.”

“Fine, but you also need a white bow tie.” 

Imagining literally the worst of the worst white trash wedding was kind of fun. 

“And white flip-flops,” Tom added. 

“What about if we want a winter wedding?” I asked. 

“White wet suits,” he answered without missing a beat. “I’ll draw a string bikini on yours in Sharpie marker pen.”

“And I’ll be sure to outline your English countryside. Very much looking forward to shading in your arse crack.”

That was the remark that made us lose it and we laughed until our sides hurt. 

Eventually we calmed down, with just the occasional giggle reemerging as we lay there. 

“Now correct me if I’m wrong,” Tom purred, “but I believe there was some mention of me destroying you?” 

“Well yes. I’d hate for you to be embarrassed on the wedding night because we hadn’t practised.”

I swear I heard him growl as he pounced on me, his smile positively wolfish. 

Oh dear, I had awoken the beast and now I was doing to pay. 

I shivered in anticipation. 

[thearcanaartificer]

Here is more for the 25 Arcana OC and LI Lore Asks. I always knew some of these answers, but some made me think.

XII.) What is your MC’s favorite type of weather? Why?

She likes storms. They can be loud and exciting and the perfect weather to tuck into the safety of her home and to watch from inside with a hot drink and cozy blanket. Or they can be calming and miserable (there is a type of ‘miserable’ that is acceptable and that is rainstorms) looking. She’ll usually close up her shop on the real nasty ones and build pillow forts and burrow in. The sound of the rain is something she can drowse to.

Julian doesn’t like them much though, which bums her out a bit, so she tones down her excitement about them. However, she has to admit she doesn’t mind how clingy he gets. She’ll use any excuse to spend time with him and baby him- though she does feel bad for him when he gets really anxious during the more nasty ones.

XIII.) If your MC was feeling down, what’s one meal that would lift their spirits? What about it brings them positive vibes?

Red curry and peanut sauce with tofu, carrots, broccoli, and jasmine rice. She loves spicy food, but when she’s feeling down she wants something a little cozier and the nutty flavors of the peanut sauce mix so well with the spice of red curry and it dials back to spicy hot flavor. And tofu. Nom. It mixes so well with the whole dish, soft and easy to chew with a simple flavor that compliments the curry.

XIV.) Does your MC hog the sheets? Does their LI? Is it a battle for sheet dominance?

Odelia runs hot while Julian runs cold. So he will pile them up with blankets and cuddle up close and when he falls asleep, she shoves them off of her and onto him. However, when he wakes up, he likes to wrap her up in them again with him. So it’s really the opposite thing going on with them.

XV.) What does your MC do to get ready for the day? Do they have a routine?

Yes, she has a routine. Asra found out pretty fast that if she doesn’t have a routine, she doesn’t function right. There are the occasional circumstances where she changes it a bit, but if she’s left without one, she loses track of time and never gets anything she’s suppose to done.

She has a few routines based on who is with her. Nadia and Portia are vastly different than her routine with Julian or Asra. Asra left her to her own devices, so she’d wake up, toss on her choice of clothes for the day, steep her tea, tie up her hair as she waited, milk and sugar her tea and sip it as she cut a piece of pumpkin bread for breakfast, and feed her pets before heading down to work.

With Julian, things are a little different. Once she decides its time to get up, she starts with cooking breakfast and coffee and tea. Once breakfast is ready (and being kept warm by the stove salamander who she trusts not to burn it, she’ll coerce Julian from the blankets and ‘no we can’t snuggle this morning’ (they snuggle for five minutes at the very least). He never complains if the food is slightly burnt because they took too long. He’ll wash dishes and she’ll take care of her pets. He drags her way when its time and dresses her and does her hair. She then helps him get dressed for the day. A few kisses and friendly petting, and Julian reluctantly goes to his clinic.

XVI.) Who are your MC’s closest friends? How did they meet?

There is Asra- though lately its been very hot and cold with him. They met when they were younger. She’s actually older than him (fifteen at the time), so when she met ten year old Asra living on the streets she took him home to her guardian and he basically became her little brother.

Muriel- Asra and Odelia brought him home and at that point her guardian was resigned to the fact that she was going to have boys in the house (Vopel women don’t like males necessarily, but her guardian had already learned to tolerate them). Her guardian actually favored him the most out of all three of them, growing up.

Then there’s Portia! Her bestie! Her closest companion! Portia had tried to pick pocket Odelia. She had just gotten to Vesuvia, only spoke Trade, and had run out of money and was hungry. Odelia caught her and instead of turning her in, took her out to eat and the friendship has only gotten stronger since then.

Nadia- she met her through Portia- sorta (she met her during the plague a few times and helped her run numbers and other small things but she doesn’t remember due to her amnesia). She broke in a lot to the castle to visit her after she got assigned as Nadia’s handmaiden. One day she planted a kiss on Nadia’s lips as a joke about those old fairy tales where a kiss would wake up the sleeping beauty and iohgaohrhao it worked (it wasn’t the kiss, just perfect timing).

Julian- Post plague pre prologue- She took him somewhere safe after he passed out drunk at the Rowdy Raven and sorta kept him after that. He only struggled a bit (because he’s a ‘terrible man who has done terrible things’ ‘Okay sure sweetie’ ‘I’m a murderer!’ ‘Eh, debatable.’), however, Odelia’s stubbornness outshines his and he finally gave in to what he actually wanted the whole time.

There are others, but those are the main ones she runs in circles with that are not too spoilerish to my writing.