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mintyys-blog · 3 days ago

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Loving all your work you're the bestttttt ❤️. Whenever you finish all your other request I'd like to ask for the aphrodisiac ask but instead of reader, mark and his variants were the ones who took it. Reader would not rest easy I bet lol. Thanks for all your great writing!

HEADCANON | if the variants took a aphrodisiac

INVINCIBLE MASTERLIST 2 | WARNINGS: sexual themes, drugging, breeding kink, swearing

Do not repost, translate, or rewrite my work, whether AI-generated or otherwise, without my permission.

MAIN MARK

Mark had never considered taking an aphrodisiac before, but when Y/N handed him the bottle, claiming it would “help,” he wasn’t going to question it. She said it was just to make things a little more fun, something lighthearted. What could go wrong?

He downed it with a chuckle, not really thinking much of it, but as the minutes ticked by, he started to feel… off. A heat settled in his chest, and his thoughts became clouded. The rush of warmth spread to his limbs, making him shift uncomfortably on the couch.

“Y/N?” he called out, voice a little deeper than usual, and his eyes narrowed, half-lidded. “What the hell did you give me?”

Y/N smirked, watching his reaction as he tried to remain composed. “I thought you wanted to relax a little, babe. What’s the matter? You look a little… flushed.”

Mark’s cheeks burned, and he didn’t know if it was from embarrassment or the growing, undeniable desire that he could feel building in him. His gaze locked onto her, and suddenly, the room felt smaller, as if everything else around him didn’t matter except for her. Every movement she made seemed to intensify the heat he felt in his body.

He stood up abruptly, his movements jerky, his breath coming a little faster than usual. “Y/N… I—what the hell is going on?”

“Why don’t you sit down, Mark?” Y/N said with a playful edge to her voice, a slight tilt of her head as she watched him squirm. “Let’s see how long you can handle it.”

Mark clenched his jaw, trying to hold himself together. “How is this supposed to help me relax? Feels—“

But his voice betrayed him, the low growl in his tone barely masking the frustration and desire that twisted through him. He stepped toward her, slowly at first, then more urgently as the sensation inside of him grew stronger. “Why do I..?”

Y/N raised an eyebrow, watching him struggle to control himself. She knew exactly what had happened, and she loved the power it gave her. “I didn’t do anything, Mark. You’re the one who wanted to have fun, right? Guess it worked.”

Mark groaned, pinning his eyes on her as his body was no longer under his control. He felt like his skin was burning with the need to be closer to her, to feel her touch, to feel everything. He was caught between frustration and yearning, and there was no way out. “Y/N, please…” he said, voice strained, eyes begging even as his body betrayed him.

“Don’t worry, baby,” she teased, stepping closer. “I’ll help you out. But you’re going to have to be a good boy for me.”

She knew exactly what she was doing, playing with him, taking her time as she watched him squirm. Mark may have been the superhero, but tonight, he was entirely at her mercy.

SINISTER MARK

Mark’s eyes narrowed suspiciously as he felt the strange heat pulse through his veins. He wasn’t sure how to explain the sudden surge of warmth spreading across his chest and down his limbs. It was like a fire that couldn’t be extinguished, and it was rapidly getting worse.

“Y/N…” he muttered, voice low and dangerously calm. “What the hell did you do?”

She looked at him innocently, though a knowing smile played at the corner of her lips. “What do you mean?”

He tried to focus on her, but it was hard when all he could think about was the intensity growing inside him. His hands were starting to shake, his body reacting to the overwhelming sensations.

“I didn’t give you anything,” Y/N said with a casual shrug. “If you’re feeling this way, then I guess you’ve just… had too much fun tonight.”

His patience was wearing thin, and it wasn’t because of her. It was because of himself. His usually cold, controlled demeanor was slipping, his anger barely contained by the simmering heat that was threatening to consume him. He leaned against the wall for support, his breathing shallow as his gaze fixed on her.

“I don’t like being messed with,” he growled, a deep, dangerous edge to his voice. “What the hell is going on?”

Y/N’s smirk deepened. She had seen him go through many things—fights, difficult situations, betrayals—but this was different. This was a crack in his perfect, brutal exterior. The power dynamic had shifted, and she could feel it.

“I told you, Mark, I didn’t do anything. But I think you’re enjoying it,” she teased, stepping closer. The challenge was obvious in her eyes, and her casual, carefree demeanor only made him seethe with frustration. She knew exactly what was happening to him, and she was enjoying every second of it. He narrowed his eyes, and in a flash he was behind her. She gasped, as she felt his chest against her back, his hand wrapped tightly on her throat.

She felt him a poke at her back, confirmation that the drug did work. He suddenly pushed her down to bend over the counter. “Is this what you wanted? You little slut. Getting me all hot and bothered.” She wiggled her ass against his cock, he groaned. Making quick work to pull down her pants; and his own. “Now you can face the consequence of your actions.”

MOHAWK MARK

Mark paced around the room, every step slow and deliberate, like he was trying to keep his mind in check. But there was no denying the growing heat in his body, the tension that seemed to hum under his skin. Something was off—he couldn’t figure out exactly what it was, but it was messing with his focus. His gaze shifted to you, watching with an amused, knowing smirk as you leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.

“You’re looking… uncomfortable,” you teased, voice light but laced with something more playful. You could see the way he was clenching and unclenching his fists, how his eyes seemed to darken just a little more with each passing second.

“Don’t start with me, Y/N,” he warned, his tone low and dangerous. His eyes flickered over to you, and you could see the effort it was taking for him to hold himself together.

You simply grinned, uncrossing your arms and stepping toward him. “What’s the matter, Mark? You look like you’re about to explode.”

He huffed, turning away from you to look at the wall, as if that would help him regain some kind of control. “I’m fine,” he muttered, though it was clear he was anything but.

“Sure,” you said with a knowing smirk, taking a step closer. “But you’re also getting pretty… worked up. I can see it. I’m not stupid.”

You walked slowly to him, standing behind him and lightly resting a hand on his back. The heat radiating from his body told you everything you needed to know—he was feeling it, whatever it was, and it wasn’t going away anytime soon.

“Let me guess,” you continued with a teasing voice. “This has got to be so frustrating, huh? Can’t stop thinking about it, but you can’t do anything about it…”

He let out a frustrated growl, running a hand through his hair. “Don’t act like you know what’s going on inside my head, Y/N.”

“Oh, I do,” you said, stepping closer so you could press against his back, your breath warm against the nape of his neck. “I know you, Mark. You want relief. I can give you relief… if you want it.”

He tensed under your touch, his hands balling into fists at his sides. His eyes flickered to the floor before meeting yours, and for a moment, you saw that flicker of vulnerability—a break in his usual stoic, cool demeanor.

“Don’t mess with me,” he growled, but you could tell he wasn’t fully resisting. He was too far gone in his own need, whatever it was that was tormenting him.

You tilted your head slightly, a sly grin on your face. “I’m not messing with you, Mark,” you said softly. “I’m offering to help.”

There was a pause, the room thick with the tension between you two. He could feel the heat building, both from his own body and from the closeness between you. His thoughts were clouded, his control slipping as the need pulsed through him like a wildfire.

“You think you can handle it?” he finally said, voice low but edged with a challenge.

Without hesitation, you stepped around to his front, standing close enough to feel the heat radiating from his body. “Oh, I’m pretty sure I can,” you replied, a wicked glint in your eyes.

He stared down at you, his breath uneven as his usual composure began to break apart, piece by piece. “Don’t expect me to go easy on you,” he warned, the dark, playful edge in his tone making it clear that he wasn’t entirely in control of himself anymore.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” you replied with a smirk.

He didn’t say another word before his hand reached for you, pulling you flush against his chest. “You’re gonna regret offering to help me, Y/N.” You grinned, pressing yourself even closer to him. “We’ll see about that, won’t we?”

PRISONER MARK

Mark paced back and forth in the room, his mind racing with thoughts that didn’t quite make sense. His body felt like it was on fire, and it wasn’t just the usual heat from his Viltrumite physiology. There was something else—something pulling at him, making him more aware of every sensation, every shift of his muscles, every breath.

His eyes darted to you, and he froze. There was something in the air, an intensity he couldn’t escape. Your casual presence seemed to only make it worse, heightening his already overstimulated senses. You weren’t doing anything—at least, not on purpose—but every time you moved, every time you looked at him, it felt like the heat inside him grew.

“Y/N,” he muttered, trying to force his voice to stay steady. “What the hell is going on?”

You just stood there, arms crossed over your chest, looking cool and calm as usual. But Mark could tell you were watching him, noticing the way his hands clenched, the tension in his jaw. You were more aware of his discomfort than he was willing to admit.

“Nothing,” you said lightly, your tone a little too innocent. “You just seem a little… off. Are you sure you’re okay?”

He wanted to deny it, but the truth was obvious, and the tightness in his chest made it hard to think clearly. “I’m fine,” he gritted out, voice rougher than usual. “It’s nothing.”

But you saw through him. It was obvious to you. There was no way he could hide it—this was far more than a typical bad day. He couldn’t shake the discomfort in his own skin, the itch that wouldn’t be scratched. He was barely holding himself together, and he hated it.

“You sure about that?” you asked, taking a step closer to him. The air between you two felt heavy, thick with something neither of you could ignore. “Because you look like you’re struggling to keep it together.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but the words died on his tongue. He couldn’t even focus on what to say, his gaze locked onto you as if you were the only thing in the world. You weren’t doing anything different, but everything about you seemed to make the heat inside him surge. He could smell you, hear your breath, feel your presence.

“Maybe I could help,” you said, your voice low and slightly teasing. There was a knowing glint in your eyes, and it made his heart rate spike even more.

Mark’s body tensed, and he instinctively took a step back, trying to distance himself. “I don’t need your help,” he snapped, though it came out more desperate than he intended. “I can handle this myself.”

But his words didn’t match the way his hands shook at his sides or the way his breath quickened when you moved closer again.

You raised an eyebrow at him, a small smirk tugging at your lips. “You sure about that?”

For a moment, he thought about pushing you away, ignoring the way his body betrayed him. But you were too close now, and there was something in the way you looked at him that made it impossible to deny. His resolve faltered as he found himself unable to look away from you.

“I can help,” you said again, this time more softly. The way you said it made the entire room feel like it was closing in, like the air was getting heavier by the second.

He bit back a groan, trying to maintain control, but his body was betraying him. He was so damn close to losing it.

You reached for him, your fingers grazing his arm lightly, and Mark couldn’t hold back the shudder that ran through him. It was subtle, but it was enough to make him realize how much he was really struggling to keep his composure.

Before he could respond, you stepped closer, your hand resting on his chest. “You can let go, Mark. It’s okay,” you whispered, your voice smooth and tempting.

He finally gave in, his hands coming up to pull you closer, desperation clear in his movements. His lips crashed against yours in a heated kiss, and the world around him seemed to disappear. All that mattered was the overwhelming need for release that had consumed him.

OMNI MARK

Mark sat rigidly at the edge of the bed, his hands clenched into fists. His Viltrumite physiology was doing nothing to quell the fire surging through his veins. He was usually in control—calm, collected, precise—but right now, everything felt off. His skin felt hot, his breath shallow, and the sense of urgency building within him only made it harder to concentrate.

He looked at you, but you were just sitting there, casually reading, utterly unaware of the battle going on inside him. He couldn’t figure out why his thoughts kept drifting to you, why everything about you was turning his world upside down.

“Y/N…” he rasped, his voice rougher than usual. He almost couldn’t recognize himself in the way he spoke, strained and desperate.

You didn’t look up right away, and it only made the frustration boil inside him. He could feel every nerve ending, every thought, every urge trying to break free. No. Not like this.

But it was becoming harder to resist. Every breath he took seemed to pull him closer to the edge. It was as if he couldn’t escape the pull you had on him, and it drove him to the brink of madness.

Finally, you looked up, catching the wildness in his gaze, the tension in his jaw. You could tell something was wrong. Very wrong.

“Mark,” you said softly, setting the book aside. Your voice was like a balm, but it only made everything worse. You stood, stepping toward him, concern knitting your brows together. “What’s going on with you?”

Mark exhaled sharply, pushing himself up from the bed. He was on his feet in an instant, towering over you, but there was something different about him now—like he was barely holding it together. His usual calm, no-nonsense demeanor was shattered, and all that was left was a man needing something. Something he couldn’t quite control.

“I… I’m not sure what’s happening,” he admitted, his breath coming faster. “But I can’t think straight. I can’t—” He stopped himself, frustrated by the words that wouldn’t come out. This wasn’t something he was used to. Being vulnerable.

You didn’t say anything, your eyes softening as you reached out, brushing a stray lock of hair from his forehead. The touch was simple, gentle—but it made his heart race even faster.

“Mark…” you whispered, trailing your fingers down his chest. “I can help, if you’ll let me.”

It was the way you said it that made him feel like he was barely holding onto his own sanity. The offer hung in the air between you two, thick with unspoken promise. He clenched his fists again, battling the urge to give in, to pull you close and just feel.

His resolve shattered when you stepped closer, your body almost flush with his. He could feel your heat, your closeness—every part of him wanted to take you then and there, to make the ache stop. But it wasn’t just the hunger inside him; it was something deeper, more personal.

“I can’t…” he started again, his voice shaking.

But you didn’t give him time to finish. Your hands cupped his face, drawing him down to you. Your lips met his in a kiss that burned through him, and everything he had fought to maintain melted away.

You didn’t pull away; instead, you held him tighter, sensing the way he was trembling, the way he was clinging to the last thread of control. Mark’s hands moved of their own accord, his grip possessive as he pulled you closer. He was almost rough, as if he needed to feel the intensity of it all—like the fire inside him couldn’t be tamed without it.

When you broke the kiss, your lips were swollen and breathless, and Mark could barely focus on the words you said next.

“Let me take care of you, Mark.”

His body betrayed him again, a low growl escaping him as he pulled you back into his arms, but this time he wasn’t going to resist. He was too far gone, and you were the only thing that mattered. With a breathless laugh, he gave in, fully aware that his need for you would never fade. And it was far too intense for either of you to ignore.

VILTRUMITE MARK

Mark stood in front of you, eyes narrowed as he looked you over. His usual calm demeanor was strained, his chest rising and falling slightly faster than usual. The air between you was thick with tension, and he could barely focus on anything other than the overwhelming sense of need crawling through his veins.

It was like something inside him had snapped. It wasn’t just the overpowering desire to claim you, to feel you under him—it was the primal urge to make you his in every way possible. To see you carry something of him. The thought took over his mind like an all-consuming fire.

He stepped closer to you, towering above you with that unnerving intensity only a Viltrumite could exude. You could feel his heat radiating off of him, his chest almost brushing against yours.

“Y/N…” His voice was low, laced with something darker than usual. “Do you feel that?” He didn’t need to explain—he knew you understood. The pull between you two had always been strong, but tonight, it was different. Something deeper was surfacing. Something more dangerous.

You swallowed, trying to calm the heat building in your own body as he stepped closer, until you were backed against the wall. His hands came to your sides, gripping you firmly, and there was no denying the urgency in his touch now.

“I need you,” Mark muttered, his breath hot against your ear. His hands slid down to your hips, pulling you against him, and you could feel the solid evidence of his desire pressing against you. It made your head spin, your heart racing as you felt your own arousal flare.

But there was more to it than just the desire. You saw the way his eyes flickered, how the primal hunger was shifting in his gaze, and you realized what he truly wanted—what he had always wanted deep down.

“You want me, don’t you?” he asked, his voice thick with possessiveness, and you couldn’t help but nod, your breath catching in your throat. “I’m going to make sure you carry my blood, Y/N.” His voice was almost a growl as he held you tighter. “I’m going to breed you. You’ll carry my child. Do you understand?”

You gasped, the words hitting you harder than you’d anticipated. It wasn’t just the intensity of the moment. It was the idea—the power behind it. The thought of him owning you in such a deep, irreversible way sent a shiver through your body.

“You’ll be mine. Completely,” he whispered, his lips brushing against your ear as his hands traveled lower, caressing the curve of your hips and thighs. “And I’ll make sure you’re filled with my blood—nothing will ever be the same again.”

His hands moved under your clothes, pulling you against him even more insistently, and you felt the flood of desire crash over you. Mark’s grip on you tightened, and he leaned down to kiss you, rougher than he usually was, demanding more than just a simple kiss.

“Mark…” you whispered, breathless as you finally met his intense gaze, your heart pounding in your chest. “Are you sure about this?”

He smirked, his usual cool demeanor replaced with something possessive, something raw. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

#x reader #reader insert #x female reader #sinister mark x reader #mohawk mark x you #prisoner mark x you #omni mark x you #viltrum mark x reader #invincible x reader #mark grayson x reader

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lee-laurent · 3 days ago

Text

It's Hard to Keep Secrets -- Luke Hughes

Summary: sadie and luke get the shock of their lives

content: situationship, make out session, pregnancy, birth (not graphic), angst, fluff

wc: 8.4k

notes: hi guys! i hope you like this one, it took me a bit cause i didn't like the way it was going at first. lemme know what you wanna see in the future! i think a quinn fic is coming up!!

Sadie cracked open the door just wide enough for Luke to slip inside, the hallway light catching on the bright red of his Devils hoodie. His hair was messy under his backwards cap, cheeks pink from the cool air outside, and he was grinning like he was on some sort of super secret mission.

Technically, he was.

She stepped back to let him in, quickly locking the door behind him. Luke kicked off his sneakers with a soft thud, his movements the same as the hundred other times he'd done it before. He shrugged out of his hoodie, leaving it in a pile on the floor like he lived there, like it wasn't just another stolen night between them.

"You're late," Sadie whispered, voice low even though Sophia's room was at the other end of the apartment.

Luke shrugged, looking entirely unbothered as he padded after her toward her bedroom. "Blame Jack. He wouldn't stop talking about his NHL 25 win. Full play-by-play, for like an hour."

Sadie smiled without realizing, shaking her head as she pushed open her door. The moment it clicked shut behind them, Luke was on her, hands sliding under the hem of her sweatshirt, mouth finding hers with a heat more intense than that of the cheap radiator buzzing in the corner.

She kissed him back instinctively, fingers threading through the soft curls at the nape of his neck. Luke kissed the same way he played hockey--all energy and drive, but with a passion that made her chest ache if she thought about it too hard.

Which she didn't.

Thinking was dangerous.

Luke backed her toward the bed without breaking the kiss, both of them laughing quietly when Sadie's legs hit the mattress and she toppled backward. He followed her down easily, bracing himself with his elbow next to her head, hovering just enough to look at her face.

"Miss me?" he teased, voice rough and low.

Sadie rolled her eyes and yanked him down by the collar of his t-shirt. "Shut up."

Later, much later, Luke lay tangled in the sheets, one arm thrown across Sadie's waist, his breathing deep and even. His body was heavy in his sleep, anchoring her to the mattress.

Sadie stared at the ceiling in the dark, her heart still beating harder than it should've been.

This was normal now. Sneaking him in after games, stealing a few hours together, pretending in public like they only interacted at work. No labels. No promises.

Sophia's muffled sigh of annoyance drifted through the thin wall between their bedrooms, followed by the unmistakable creak of Sadie's bed as Luke shifted in his sleep.

Sadie clamped a hand over her mouth to smother her laugh. She was definitely getting an earful in the morning.

Sunlight filtred weakly through the kitchen blinds, making the linoleum floor look even more pathetic than it usually did. Sadie shuffled in wearing Luke's abandoned hoodie, it hung halfway down her thighs, and found Sophia already at the counter, aggressively pressing buttons on the Keurig.

"Morning," Sadie croaked, dragging her hand through her hair until it caught on a knot.

Sophia didn't look up. "You and your boyfriend kept me up half the night," she said, voice flat. "I hope you're happy."

Sadie blinked blearily. "He's not my boyfriend."

Sophia turned slowly, holding out a coffee mug like it was a peace offering, or maybe a weapon. "Tell that to the three-hour amateur porn soundtrack I was forced to listen to."

The blonde wrapped her hands around the warm cermaic and bit back a grin. "You're being dramatic."

"Am I?" Sophia leaned against the counter, an eyebrow cocked. "Because if I have to hear Luke Hughes groaning your name through the wall one more time, I'm gonna start charging you for the therapy I'll have to attend."

Sadie blew on the coffee, not meeting her best friend's eyes. "We're... you know it's not serious."

Sophia snorted. "Could've fooled me. Guy's here more than Uber Eats."

She didn't bother defending herself. What was the point? Luke tended not to correct Sophia when she called him her boyfriend. He didn't act like it was just sex when he lingered after, tracing patterns on her hip or scratching her head until they both drifted off.

But they'd never said it out loud. That was the rule, unspoken but ironclad.

Sadie drained her coffee in a few gulps and headed back to her room to get ready for work. Another day of pretending everything was normal. Simple enough.

The Hockey House at the Prudential Center was buzzing when she arrived, players and staff moving between morning practices and meetings. She tucked herself in the flow, camera bag over one shoulder, work badge clipped to her quarter-zip.

She found a spot near the boards and pulled out her work phone, tapping through the dozens of pictures she'd taken at the game the night before. Quick edit, capation, post. Repeat.

On the ice, Luke skated backward, head on a swivel, sticking handling the puck with an ease that would've made her week in the knees if she weren't already used to him by now.

Jack skated up behind him, jabbing at him with the knob of his stick. Luke whipped around, laughing and pushing him in retaliation, and the two of them chirped each other loud enough for everyone to hear.

Sadie caught the moment out the corner of her eye, Luke's quick glance toward her, the smirk he tried (and failed miserably) to conceal.

She ducked her head quickly, pretending to fiddle with the settings on her camera.

Jack, of course, wasn't about to let it go.

"Rusty, stop trying trying to look cool for Sadie!" he called out, voice carrying across the ice.

A couple guys laughed. Luke shoved Jack hard enough to send him sliding. Sadie kept her expression neutral, but her fingers twitched around her phone, itching to text Sophia about it.

Business as usual.

Except for the part where Sadie's stomach twisted painfully, a low ache blooming deep in her gut. She pressed a hand against her abdomen, frowning slightly.

Cramps. Nothing new. Her period had been weird lately--lighter, shorter, but not enough to make her think anything of it.

Her phone buzzed. Sophia.

Soph: just got one of those posts that was like the first person in your share button is pregnant. if you're knocked up i'm suing you for even more emotional damages.

Sadie laughed under her breath and fired back a middle finger emoji, rolling her eyes.

Pregnant? Funny. She'd just had her period. Kind of. Mostly.

Everything was fine.

Totally, completely fine.

Sadie woke up to a sharp twist of pain low in her abdomen. She groaned, curling tighter into herself under the blankets. Her room was still dark, the cheap digital clock on her nightstand blinking 7:12AM in angry red numbers.

She'd been dealing with cramps for days now, but this was worse. Deeper. Heavier.

Still. It was nothing a hot shower and an extra-strength Advil couldn't fix.

She hauled herself out of bed, wincing as she stood, and dragged on a pair of sweatpants and the first hoodie she could find, one of Luke's (of course) because half of her closet was unofficially his at this point.

The kitchen smelled like burnt toast and cinnamon cereal when she shuffled in. Sophia was perched on the counter, bare feet swinging, eating Froot Loops straight out of the box.

"You look like shit," she said through a mouthful of cereal.

Sadie grunted in response and headed straight for the coffee pot.

Sophia crunched loudly and gave her a once-over. "You're glowing, though. Remember what I texted you about. Pregnant women glow, right?"

Sadie flipped her off without turning around.

"I'm just saying. You're either pregnant or dying."

"Probably dying," Sadie muttered, pouring herself a cup of coffee and leaning heavily against the counter.

Sophia watched her for a long beat, the teasing fading from her eyes. "You good, though? Like for real?"

"Just cramps. Nothing new."

Sophia didn't look convinced, but she let it go, hopping off the counter and shoving the cereal box at Sadie. "Eat something before you pass out, idiot."

She rolled her eyes but grabbed a handful of cereal anyway, crunching absently as she scrolled through her notifications. Devils practice at 10AM. A TikTok scheduled to post at 9. A team meeting she wasn't invited to but would probably show up at anyway since her coworkers sucked at taking notes.

Busy day. No time to feel like shit.

Sadie quickly tucked herself into the controlled chaos of the arena, phone in hand, camera on her shoulder, and her second coffee of the morning in the other.

Same as always. Smile, nod, get good content, stay mostly invisible.

Except she wasn't invisible, not really. Luke's eyes found her almost immediately when she stepped onto the edge of the practice rink. He didn't smile or wave--he never did when they were in public--but there was a flicker of something there. A caringness in his gaze.

Sadie lifted her phone and started recording as practice kicked off. Jack was being his usual self, cracking jokes at everyone within a fifty-food radius. Nice was focused, laser-locked on the drills. Luke looked good, fast, confident, but somewhat distracted compared to most days.

Or maybe that was just Sadie projecting. Because five minutes later, her stomach twisted so hard she nearly doubled over behind the bench.

She squeezed her eyes shut, breathing shallowly through her nose. Jesus. It felt like someone was wringing her insides out with their bare hands.

As soon as practice ended, her phone buzzed.

Lu: You okay? You look kinda pale today

Sadie swallowed hard, texting back:

Sadie: fine. just tired

She forced herself to focus on her work, wiping the sweat from her forehead. It was just cramps. Bad ones, sure. But she wasn't going to make a scene at work over something stupid.

By the time she got home, she was ready to collapse.

Sadie tossed her bag down and immediately sank onto the couch, grabbing her heating pad from the basket of blanket, then curling into the corner like a wounded animal. She fumbled with the remote and flipped through channels until she landed on some trashy reality dating show, the noise comforting in it stupidity.

She barely registered Sophia's footsteps until the other girl flopped onto the couch beside her, a bag of chips in her lap.

"You look worse," she said bluntly.

Sadie didn't even argue. She hugged a heating pad tighter to her stomach and closed her eyes. "Still dying."

Sophia muted the TV, brows drawn together. "You seriously don't think something's wrong?"

Sadie cracked one eye open. "It's cramps. I'm not gonna waste three hundred dollars at urgent care to be told to take some Midol."

Sophia hesitated, then reached out and touched Sadie's forehead like a worried mom. "You're sweating."

Sadie batted her hand away, embarassed.

But a sharp bolt of pain made her whole body jolt a second later, and she gasped without meaning to, folding over herself.

"Okay, nope, we're done," Sophia said, standing up so fast the chip bag toppled onto the floor. "Get up. We're going to the clinic."

Sadie shook her head, stubborn. "Sophia--"

"No. I'm not gonna sit here and watch you pass out on the couch. Get. Up."

Sadie tried to protest again, but the wave of pain nearly knocked the wind out of her. Tears sprang to her eyes, unbidden.

She didn't even remember standing. One minute she was hunched over, and the next Sophia was hauling her toward the door, shoving sneakers onto her feet and grabbing her car keys with a muttered, "If you die in my passenger seat I swear to god..."

The drive to the walk-in clinic was a blur. Sadie sat curled into herself, forehead pressed to the cold window, breathing shallowly as Sophia broke every speed limit on the way there.

Luckily, the clinc was half-empty.

Sophia bullied the receptionist into fast-tracking Sadie, and within minutes, she was in a freezing exam room, trying not to throw up from the pain.

The nurse was kind but brisk. Asked her a million questions Sadie barely registered. When was your last period? Any chance you could be pregnant? Any nausea? Fainting? Or bleeding?

Sadie answered automatically: Last week. No chance. Just cramps.

The nurse frowned but nodded, handing Sadie a plastic cup for a urine sample and promising the doctor would be in soon.

So she sat on the edge of the paper-covered exam table, shivering, arms wrapped around her middle.

Sophia paced the tiny room, muttering under her breath about worst-case scenarios.

Sadie tuned her out, focusing on the rhythm of her breathing, the way the fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, the way her whole body felt like it was floating and anchored down all at once.

She was fine.

It was nothing.

It had to be nothing.

She had moved her focus to the sterile white walls of the exam room when the door opened again.

The doctor was young, maybe mid-thirties, with kind eyes and a clipboard tucked under his arm. He didn't smile. Didn't joke. Just stepped inside and shut the door careufully behind him, like he was containing something dangerous.

Oh my god, maybe she was contagious.

Sadie sat hunched on the table, one hand pressed to the deep cramp in her lower abdomen, the other gripping the edge so hard her knuckles were white. Sophia stood off to the side, arms crossed, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet.

The doctor cleared his throat. "Hi, Sadie. I just got the results from your urine catch. I was going to order a bedside ultrasound, but I've decided against it here."

Sadie blinked at him, confused as ever. "Okay...?"

The doctor pulled a stool over and sat, his voice low and even. "I know this is going to sound impossible, but you're not just cramping. You're in active labour."

Sadie stared at him.

And then, out of reflex, she laughed, although it was completely humourless. "No, I'm not. I had my period. I have my period. Last week... it's been lighter, but... I would know."

Sophia stiffened like she'd been struck, eyes wide as saucers.

The doctor nodded patiently, like this was the reaction he had been expecting. "I believe you. It's rare, but cryptic pregnancies happen more often than people realize. Sometimes hormone levels stay low enough that you don't stop bleeding. Sometimes symptoms are mild enough that they're mistaken for normal cycle changes."

Sadie shook her head, trying to physically shake off his words. "No. No way. I'd know. I'd feel different."

"You didn't," the doctor said gently. "But it's happening. Would you mind if I did a quick exam to see how far dialated you are? We need to transfer you to a hospital as soon as possible."

Sadie nodded, opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. The room was tilting sideways. She tasted acid at the back of her throat.

"You're about five centimetres dialated."

Sophia finally moved, stepping forward. "Is it... I mean... is the baby okay?"

"We won't know until we get to labour and delivery," the doctor said, standing. He opened the door, calling down the hall for an ambulance.

Sadie sat frozen on the table, heart hammering wildly against her ribs.

A baby. A baby. Inside her. Right now.

Tears blurred her vision. Her hands were shaking. She couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.

Sophia was suddenly in front of her, crouching to meet her eye level. "Hey. Hey. Sadie, listen to me. It's okay. It's gonna be okay. You're not alone."

Sadie let out a hysterical little laugh. "Soph, there's a fucking baby."

"I know," Sophia said, her voice wobbling just a little. "We're gonna handle it."

The EMTs arrived in a blur of noise and flashing lights. They helped Sadie onto a gurney, strapping her down carefully. The pain was coming in faster now, like waves hitting too hard against a crumbling bridge.

Someone was talking to Sophia--paperwork, hospital forms-- but Sadie couldn't focus. She was being wheeled through the clinic, the cold air hitting her sweat-damp skin like a slap.

"Is there someone you want us to call?" one of the EMTs asked kindly as they loaded her into the ambulance.

Sadie squeezed her eyes shut. She wanted her mom. She wanted Sophia. She wanted everything to go back to the way it was hours before.

Another contraction hit, sharp and vicious, and she gasped.

Sophia appeared in the doorway of the ambulance, holding Sadie's phone.

"Who should I call?" Sophia asked, voice urgent.

Sadie clutched at the stretcher rails, breathing hard. Her mind went blank, then filled with one image:

Luke.

Luke's stupid, soft curls. Luke's steady hands. Luke's smile when he thought she wasn't looking.

"Luke," she croaked. "Call Luke."

Sophia didn't argue. She turned and bolted toward her car, fumbling with the phone as the ambulance doors slammed shut and the siren wailed to life.

Luke was sprawled across his bed, half-watching a movie, when his phone buzzed.

Sadie.

A weird pit opened in his stomach. She never called him during the day, especially when she had work to get done at home.

He answered immediately. "Hey's, what's--"

"LUKE," Sophia's voice exploded through the speaker, shrill with panic. He shot upright, his heart slamming into his ribs.

"What's--what's wrong?"

"You need to get to University Hospital right now," Sophie said breathless, near tears. "Sadie's in labour."

Luke's brain flatlined for a full two seconds.

"Labour?!" he repeated stupidly.

"YES. LABOUR. BABY. NOW. MOVE YOUR ASS." Sophia hung up without waiting for a response.

Luke sat frozen for half a second longer, then the adrenaline kicked in.

He grabbed the first hoodie he could find and bolted into the hall, sprinting to Jack's room.

Jack opened the door, hair sticking up in every direction, looking like he'd just been woken up.

"Dude--?"

"I gotta go," Luke gasped, already halfway down the hall. "Sadie's--Sadie's having a baby."

Jack's face went through about six stages of confusion before Luke disappeared out the front door.

Sadie felt like she was floating above her own body by the time they wheeled her into the labour and delivery unit.

The pain was constant now, rolling through her like a freight train. She could hear monitors beeping, nurses shouting orders, the bright clinical lights in her eyes again.

"Almost there, Sadie," a nurse soothed, adjusting something on her IV. "You're doing so good."

Sadie didn't feel good. She felt like she was dying.

And then--

A flash of movement at the door.

Luke.

He stumbled into the room, hair wild, hoodie half-zipped, sneakers untied, eyes huge and horrified.

He looked at her like she was the only thing in the world.

"I'm here," he said, voice cracking. He crossed to her bedside in two strides and grabbed her hand. "I'm not going anywhere."

Sadie didn't even think--she clutched at him like a lifeline, squeezing his hand until her fingers ached.

The doctor glanced at the monitors and nodded. "Okay, Sadie. It's time to push."

Sadie turned her head, met Luke's wide, terrified eyes. Neither of them said anything. They didn't have to.

The world had already split wide open.

Sadie didn't even realize she was screaming until her throat was raw.

Everything blurred, the bright lights, voices shouting encouragements, Luke's hand crushing hers. Sweat dripped down her temples. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe, could only push because her body had taken over.

"You're almost there!" the nurse was saying, way too cheerfully.

Luke was leaning in close, forehead nearly touching Sadie's. His voice was low and frantic. "You're doing so good, Sadie. You're so strong. I'm right here."

Tears stung her eyes from the pain, the fear, from the sharp reality of it all.

This was happening.

There was no way of stopping it now.

Another contraction ripped through her and she bore down, every muscle straining, vision going white around the edges. Luke squeezed her hand harder.. or maybe she squeezed his. She couldn't tell anymore.

One final push and--

A sharp, wet cry filled the air. Tiny, raw, and very real.

Sadie gasped, her whole body sagging back against the bed. The pain ebbed instantly, replaced by something heavier, something dizzying.

There was a baby crying.

Her baby.

Their baby.

She blinked through tears and saw the nurses moving fast, bustling around the tiny, squirming form. Sadie caught a glimpse, wrinkled skin, wild flailing arms, before they whisked the baby over to a warming table.

She tried to sit up but her body was boneless, trembling.

Luke stayed rooted by her side, looking completely wrecked. His face was pale as hers, his eyes leaking tears.

A nurse touched his arm, smiling kindly. "Dad? You want to come meet her?"

Luke looked at Sadie, silently asking for permission.

She gave a tiny nod, throat too tight to speak.

He stumbled forward like he wasn't sure how his legs worked anymore, hovering awkwardly by the table where their daughter was being cleaned and checked.

Sadie watched through blurred eyes as Luke bent over the baby. She saw him reach out a shaking finger, saw the way his whole body jerked when the baby's tiny, hand curled around it instinctively.

Luke made a choked-off sound, half-laugh, half-sob, and wiped at his face with the sleeve of his hoodie like he could pretend he wasn't crying.

Sadie bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. Something inside her cracked.

Luke turned back toward her, cradling a tiny pink bundle in his arms like she was made of spun sugar.

He crossed the room in careful steps and sat down gently on the edge of her bed, holding out their daughter.

She automatically reached for her, hands trembling so badly Luke had to help her adjust her grip.

The second her baby was in her arms, Sadie felt it-- The click. The one everyone always talked about. The way her whole world shifted and snapped into place around this tiny, squirming perfect thing.

"Oh my God," she whispered, tears spilling over. "Hi, baby. Hi."

The baby blinked up at her, mouth puckered.

"She's... she's so small," Sadie said hoarsely, like the words couldn't possibly hold enough weight.

Luke laughed weakly, wiping his eyes. "She's perfect."

Sadie couldn't argue.

They let her rest for a while--as much as anyone could with nurses checking her vitals every ten minutes and monitors beeping constantly.

Luke never moved more than a few feet away.

Sophia finally made it to the hospital after the adrenaline had worn off enough for her to drive safely. She peeked into the room with red-rimmed eyes and mouthed holy shit when she saw the baby curled up on Sadie's chest.

Sadie gave her a shaky thumbs-up.

An hour later, a nurse came in with a clipboard and huge grin.

"We need to fill out the birth certificate before we can start even thinking about discharging you," she said, flipping to the appropriate page.

Sadie's stomach twisted. She clutched her baby tighter, heart speeding up again.

The nurse smiled again. "Name for the baby?"

Sadie swallowed hard. She hadn't thought this far ahead, hadn't had any time to think, but the name slipped out, soft and sure.

"Elisabeth," she said. "Elisabeth Jeanne Howard."

The nurse scribbled it down. "Beautiful name? And what's your name, Dad?"

Sadie's whole body locked up.

Luke was sitting in the chair next to the bed, Elisabeth's tiny hat clutched loosely in his big hands. He looked up at her then, not demanding or pleading, just waiting.

Waiting to see if she was going to let him be part of this.

Sadie's throat closed up. Her mind raced: It would be easier if it was just her name. Cleaner. Simpler. Safer.

Luke could walk away. He should walk away. He wasn't supposed to stay. They weren't supposed to be like this.

But when she looked at him, his hoodie rumpled, his hair a mess, his eyes still red, she knew.

She couldn't erase him from this. Not when he showed up. Not when he stayed.

Sadie nodded, voice barely a whisper.

"Luke Hughes. He's the father."

Luke exhaled a shaky breath, nodding back like she'd just given him the universe.

The nurse beamed and filled in the rest of the form, humming under her breath.

Sadie leaned back against the pillows, every muscle trembling with exhaustion. She stared up at the ceiling, blinking hard against the fresh wave of tears that had hit her.

Beside her, Luke shifted closer. Sadie turned her head just enough to see him lift Elisabeth from her chest, whispering nonsense under his breath like she was the most important thing he'd ever seen.

Sadie let her eyes flutter shut.

The world outside the hospital room was still turning. But inside, for one perfect moment, everything else had faded away.

It was just them.

Sadie. Luke. Elisabeth.

And a future she hadn't planned for, but could maybe, just maybe, survive.

Sadie thought that leaving the hospital would make things feel normal. Like maybe once they were back in the apartment, she could pretend this was just another weird, bad dream she could wake up from.

It didn't work.

Sophia helped balance the ridiculous number of bags and folders the nurses had given them while Sadie clutched Elisabeth like she was made of glass. Luke hovered so close it was a wonder he didn't physically carry both of them to the car.

Loading Elisabeth into the car seat (one they'd sent Sophia to get) was an absolute disaster.

Sadie fumbled with the straps, her hands shaking so badly she couldn't figure out which clip went where. Elisabeth let out a wail that sliced right through Sadie's already fraying nerves.

"I'm hurting her," she panicked, blinking back tears. "I'm already fucking this up."

"Hey, no, you're not," Luke said quickly, scooching in to help. His hands weren't much steadier. "We'll figure it out. She's okay."

"Barely," Sophia muttered as she elbowed Luke out of the way and buckled the car seat in two quick moves.

Sadie sagged into the passenger seat, still physically and emotionally drained, listening to Elisabeth's tiny cries of discomfort in the backseat.

Yeah, definitely not a dream.

The apartment felt different when they got back even though nothing had physically changed.

Sadie set the carrier down in the middle of the living room, not sure what the hell to do next.

Sophia grabbed their stack of takeout menus from the junk drawer and disappeared into the kitchen, muttering about needing to eat or she was gonna pass out. Luke stood awkwardly beside Sadie, shifting from foot to foot, looking just as lost.

Then Elisabeth started crying again, the sound instantly making Sadie's chest ache.

She tried to pick her up, tried to rock her like the nurse had shown her how to do at the hospital, but Elisabeth's face screwed up even tighter, her little fists waving angrily.

"Uh... maybe she's hungry?"

Sadie stared at him. "Cool. So you breastfeed her."

Sophia barked out a laugh from the kitchen.

Luke flushed but didn't back down. "Didn't they give you some bottles? Formula?"

Sadie almost cried from relief when she remembered the little starter packs the hospital had shoved into her bag. Luke ripped one open and started reading the instructions out loud while Sadie stumbled through mixing the powder and water with her shaky hands.

The first eating out of the hospital was a disaster, half the bottle ended up on Sadie's shirt, but Elisabeth drank it down, making little coos as she enjoyed her meal.

By late afternoon, Sadie was fading fast. Her whole body felt like it was aching. Elisabeth was sleeping, again, swaddled awkwardly but securely thanks to some frantic googling. Sophia was passed out in the armchair, one hand still clutching her half-eaten granola bar.

Sadie couldn't blame her.

Luke stood up, stretching, his shirt riding up just enough to flash a strip of his toned stomach. Sadie quickly looked away.

"I'm gonna go shower and grab some stuff," he said quietly. "You'll be okay?"

She nodded, even though the thought of him not being there made her even more anxious. She pulled the laundry basket that had turned into a makeshift bassinet closer, breathing in that new baby smell.

Luke hesitated. For a second, it looked like he wanted to say something important but he just leaned down and ran his thumb over Elisabeth's cheek before slipping out the door.

Jack was waiting.

The second Luke opened the apartment door, Jack was standing there in the middle of the living room, arms crossed, eyebrows practically up to his hairline.

"Okay," Jack said, voice tight. "Start talking."

Luke kicked the door shut behind him and ran a hand through his hair, feeling ten years older than he had the day before.

"It's... a lot."

Jack snorted. "You think?"

Luke flopped onto the couch, head in his hands.

There was no easy way to say it, so he just ripped the plaster right off.

"Me and Sadie... we've been, uh, seeing each other."

Jack blinked. "You mean fucking?"

Luke groaned. "For two years... a few weeks after I got here."

"TWO YEARS?!" Jack choked.

"Yeah."

The older boy paced in front of him like a caged animal. "And you didn't tell me? Your own brother? I thought we were cool, man."

"We are! I just... it wasn't--it wasn't supposed to be serious."

"You said she was in labour?" Jack stared at him. "You just had a baby with her?"

Luke scrubbed his hands over his face. "I KNOW."

"So what, you're together now? You're dating? You're what?"

Luke swallowed audibly.

"We're not focused on figuring that out right now," he said finally, voice rough. "But yeah. She's, uh, she's not doing this alone. I'm not bailing."

"Good. Cause if you bailed, I'd kick your ass."

"You'd try," Luke laughed weakly.

There was a heavy silence between them as they both took the time to process what was happening.

Then Jack perked up.

"So... can I tell the guys?"

Luke gave him a look.

"Absolutely not. Nobody can know yet. Not until Sadie and I figure it out. Promise me, Jack."

Jack sighed dramatically, but reached his hand out to shake his brother's. "Fine. I swear. Not a word."

Luke didn't feel relaxed.

He knew Jack. Secrets never stayed secret for long.

The first couple days after Sadie disappeared, nobody thought much of it. Social media was always chaotic, schedules changed last minute, people missed games for personal stuff, it wasn't weird.

But by day four, the whispers started.

Sadie's absence wasn't just a day or an emergency doctor appointment. She was just gone. No warning, no cover posts, no subtitute lined up to watch over the Instagram and TikTok.

Someone from ticketing mentioned it first, standing around the coffee machine in the break room.

"Anybody heard from Sadie?" she asked, casually, like it was nothing.

A guy from PR shrugged. "Maybe she quit."

Another assistant chimed in, lowering her voice like she was afraid Sadie might appear out of thin air. "I heard she had a baby."

The room went silent.

Someone snorted. "Sadie? A baby? No way?"

"No, seriously," the assistant insisted. "My roommate's friend works at the hospital. She said Sadie came in last week in labour. Like... didn't even know she was pregnant."

Another beat of stunned silence.

"Bullshit," someone said finally.

"Swear to god," the assistant said, crossing her heart. "Arrived in an ambulance, labour and delivery, boom. Baby."

Nobody knew what to do with that information.

It didn't take long for the rumour to hit the locker room.

Players trickled into the locker room, sweaty from morning skate. Luke sat in his usual spot, untying his laces, heart pounding harder than normal.

"Yo, you hear about Sadie?" Dawson called across the room, towel slung around his neck.

"What about her?" Timo asked.

Dawson grinned. "Supposedly she had a baby."

Half the room laughed like he'd just told a bad joke.

"Sadie? Nah," Nico said, shaking his head. "There's no way. I saw her like, last week. She looked fine."

"She's always wearing sweatshirts, man," Dawson said. "Maybe you just didn't notice."

"Still," Timo said, frowning. "Was she even dating anyone?"

That sent another ripple through the group. Nobody could remember her even mentioning a boyfriend, let alone looking pregnant.

"She always kept to herself," someone muttered.

Luke kept his head down, taking off his pads with more focus than necessary, pretending he didn't hear a word of it.

Beside him, Jack was weirdly quiet.

Too quiet.

And when Dawson made a joke about how maybe Sadie had a secret life, Jack visibly flinched.

Luke glanced sideways to see Jack muttering under his breath, almost too low to catch.

"If anyone knew her secret life, it was Luke."

His stomach dropped.

Nobody reacted, too much noise, too much movement. But a young intern standing near the doorway raised an eyebrow. He didn't say anything. Just slipped out of the locker room a few seconds later, phone already out in hand.

Jack realized what he'd done half a second later, eyes wide, mouth opening to apologize.

Luke shook his head tightly. Too late. He knew with a sick certainty that it wouldn't take long now.

Upstairs, in the offices behind the glass walls of the Prudential Center, the gears were already starting to turn.

The staff who needed to know already knew: Sadie was out on emergency leave. She had a healthy baby girl. It was a private matter. No need for an official announcement, social media posts, or a team statement. Yet.

But Sadie wasn't just anyone. She was on the content team. She was constantly around players. And now there were rumours swirling that one of those players, maybe several, had known a lot more than they were supposed to.

It wasn't hard for the whispers to make their way up the chain.

When HR got the tip that Luke Hughes and Sadie Howard might have crossed professional lines?

They flagged it immediately.

Luke knew something was wrong the second he stepped off the ice the next day. The way the coaching staff looked at him. The way one of the HR reps was standing just inside the tunnel, arms folded.

He didn't get pulled... not yet. Not today at least.

But the look on their faces told him everything he needed to know.

Time was up.

Luke had just finished his first warm-up lap when he saw them.

Two HR reps, black blazers and stiff expressions, standing behind the bench like they had a death warrant in their hands.

His stomach dropped to his feet.

Coach Keefe skated over to Luke mid-drill, murmured something low and tight. Luke's chest squeezed when he heard the words: "You need to come with us."

The entire team was watching. Not a full stop, but enough that the mood shifted. Eyes followed him as he skated off, taking off his gloves with jerky movements. Jack caught his gaze briefly, brows pinched together in worry.

Luke kept his head down as he stepped off the ice, tugging a hoodie over his damp hair, suddenly feeling very exposed.

The HR reps said nothing as they led him down the hall, the click of their shoes echoing off the concrete walls.

Luke already knew what was coming. He just didn't know how bad it would be.

The conference room felt colder than the rink. Sleek, glass table. Leather chairs. A pitcher of untouched water in the centre. HR, legal, two guys from upper management, all sitting there like a jury.

Luke swallowed hard and sat when they motioned.

The lead HR rep, a woman with sharp eyes and a crisp file folder in front of her, started immediately.

"We've received a report regarding a potential violation of the organization's Code of Conduct."

Luke's palms went sweaty.

She continued, voice even, almost mechanical. "We have reason to believe that you've engaged in a romantic or sexual relationship with a member of the Devils' social media staff. Namely, Sadie Howard."

Luke's throat felt tight enough to cut off air. He forced himself to nod. "Yes. I have."

"How long has this relationship been ongoing?"

He could lie. He could say it was new, recent, barely started. But his gut twisted at the thought.

He didn't want to start this with a lie. Not about her. Not about Elisabeth.

"Two years," he said quietly. "Since my rookie season."

One of the legal guys whistled low under his breath before catching himself.

The HR woman kept her expression blank. "And you confirm the relationship was fully consensual?"

Luke lifted his chin. "Yes. Always."

More notes scratched onto legal pads.

"And you acknowledge that at no point was this relationship disclosed to management or HR as required by organizational policy?"

"No. It wasn't disclosed."

He could see it in their faces, the weight of that admission.

The HR rep closed her folder with a soft snap.

"We're evaluating next steps. There could be disciplinary action, including but not limited to suspension from team activities. Ms. Howard's employment status is also under review."

Luke's heart dropped even more. Sadie. She could lose her job. Because of him. Because of them.

He wanted to argue, to say it wasn't her fault, that she hadn't meant for any of this to happen. But the HR woman stood and smoothed down her jacket.

"You'll be informed of the organization's decision within the next twenty-four hours," she said crisply. "You're dismissed for the day. No media appearances. No contact with staff."

Meanwhile, across town, Sadie was fighting her own battle.

Elisabeth was wailing in her arms, tiny face scrunched and bright red. Sadie bounced her gently, humming nonsense under her breath, but it barely made a dent.

She was exhausted. Bone-deep.

The ring of her phone made her jump. She almost let it go to voicemail, but something in her gut told her to answer.

"Hello?" she cleared her throat.

"Ms. Howard?" The woman's voice was smooth and polite. "This is HR from the New Jersey Devils organization. We'd like to request you come in for a meeting regarding your employment status. Today, if possible."

Sadie's blood went cold. "I... I just had a baby," she stammered. "I'm on leave."

The woman didn't miss a beat. "We understand. This is a time-sensitive matter."

Time-sensitive. Employment status.

Someone knew. They knew about her and Luke.

Sophia came barreling into the room, took one look at Sadie's face and grabbed Elisabeth out of her arms.

"Go," Sophia said fiercely. "I've got her. Go do what you need to do."

Luke was sitting outside the HR office when she got there. He stood the second he saw her. Sadie stopped short, heart cracking at the sight of him. Neither of them said anything. They didn't have to.

It was written all over Luke's face: I'm scared. I'm sorry. I'm here.

Sadie opened her mouth to ask what happened, to ask how bad it was, but a woman in a blazer stepped into the hall.

"Ms. Howard? We're ready for you."

Sadie forced herself to move, to walk into the conference room like she was a dead man on trial.

She sat down in the stiff leather chair, her back straight, her hands flat against the cool glass tabletop.

Across from her sat the same people Luke had met with, three faces she'd worked alongside for years, now looking at her like she was a liability they didn't know how to handle.

"Ms. Howard, we're here to discuss a violation of the organization's professional conduct policy. Specifically, the nondisclosure of a romantic relationship with a player currently on the New Jersey Devils roster."

Sadie swallowed hard but said nothing.

The HR woman flipped through a file. Sadie caught glimpses--notes on notes about her and Luke. It felt invasive.

"You admit to being involved with Luke Hughes for the past two years?" she asked, pen poised.

Sadie forced a nod. "Yes."

"And you understand that under organizational policy, you were obligated to disclose any personal relationship with players to HR at the outset?"

Sadie clenched her hands in her lap. "It wasn't--" She cut herself off, took a breath. "It isn't a relationship. Not officially. We weren't... aren't dating. It's private. We kept it separate from work."

One of the men leaned forward, steepling his fingers. "No one is accusing you of unprofessional behaviour in your job, Sadie. But perception matters. Risk matters. If the public were to find out and perceive bias, favortism, or worse, it damages the organization's credibility."

Sadie stared down the table at them.

They weren't wrong. Intent didn't erase risk.

The HR rep continued. "Effective immediately, you'll be placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. You'll retain your benefits, but you are not permitted to perform work duties or access any Devils facilities."

Sadie nodded numbly.

"Termination is a possibility, depending on the outcome of the review," the other man added, almost as an afterthought.

They dismissed her after that, politely, formally, like it made it easier. Like manners softened the blow of your entire life falling apart.

Luke was pacing the hallway when she walked out, sneakers squeaking against the polished floor.

Sadie brushed past him, head down, throat burning.

"Sadie--" he started, reaching out.

"Don't," she snapped, whipping around. Her voice cracked from how hard she was trying not to cry. "Don't you dare."

Luke's face crumpled, but he didn't move, didn't argue.

"This is my life, Luke," Sadie hissed, keeping her voice low because God forbid someone else overhear. "My career! The thing I worked my fucking ass off for. It's all I had."

Her chest heaved, watching Luke open and close his mouth. She wanted to punch something. She wanted to scream.

Instead, she said, bitter and broken, "I can't do this right now. I need to get home."

"I'll drive you."

The ride home was thick with silence. Sadie stared out the window, arms crossed tightly over her chest, blinking back furious tears. Luke gripped the steering wheel like it was the only thing anchoring him to the earth.

Halfway home, the words started to spill from her mouth before she could stop them.

"I never planned this. Not the baby. Not sleeping with a guy from work. I had it all figured out. Graduate. Work for a sports team. Build a career. Be independent. Never have to rely on anyone but myself and Sophia from time to time."

She laughed, wiping her nose.

"And now I'm twenty-one, possible jobless, a single mom, and completely screwed."

Luke put the car in park as they rolled up to her building, turning to look at her.

"You're not alone," he said. "I know it feels like it, but you're not. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere, Sadie."

She didn't answer.

Sophia was waiting when they walked in, Elisabeth in her arms.

She took one look at Sadie's face and immediately handed the baby to Luke without a word, disappearing into her bedroom to give them space.

Luke shifted Elisabeth in his arms, moving carefully, like he was afraid to break her and Sadie.

Sadie sank down onto the couch, staring blankly at the TV that was playing a cooking show on mute. Her vision blurred and before she could stop herself, she turned into him, pressed her face into the fabric of his sweatshirt and sobbed. Big, ugly, shuddering sobs she hadn't even known were inside her.

Luke didn't say a word. He just stroked her hair until she cried herself to sleep, cuddled into his side.

Back in the conference room, back in the stiff leather chair.

But this time, there was no waiting, no buildup.

The HR rep looked at him over a thin stack of papers.

"Mr. Hughes, we've concluded our investigation."

Luke nodded, trying not to bounce his knee under the table.

"Given the circumstances, the absence of workplace misconduct or complaints, we're opting for a formal reprimand. You will need to disclose any future relationships immediately. And be aware, any further incidents could lead to suspension or more severe consequences."

"Yes, ma'am," he said quickly.

She slid a paper across the table. "Sign here acknowledging receipt."

Luke signed without hesitation.

"And Mr. Hughes," she added, softer yet still professional, "congratulations on the birth of your daughter."

He blinked, completely caught off guard. He mumbled a "thank you" and practically bolted before they could change their minds.

Sadie's meeting had been shorter, but no easier.

They'd told her she'd remain on leave for now. No termination. Not yet.

When--if-- she returned, she'd be placed on a three-month probation, monitored closely for any sign of unprofessional behaviour. One wrong move and she was out.

She had nodded, signed, agreed to everything without really hearing the words. She was focused on surviving. One hour, one day at a time. At least she still had a job.

Luke braced himself as he walked into the locker room. Morning skate had just ended, but he'd been in his meeting.

Guys were half-dressed, laughing about something when they spotted him.

The room went dead silent. Every head turned.

Luke froze in the doorway, pocketing his phone.

Jack broke first. He grinned so wide it was almost blinding. Dawson followed, smirking like he was having the time of his life.

"HEY," he said loudly, standing up and pointing at Luke. "YOU HAD A WHOLE SECRET GIRLFRIEND AND A BABY?!"

The room erupted.

"What the fuck, Rusty?"

"No warning? No gender reveal party? Weak."

"Dude, you pulled Sadie? Respect."

"Was it your TikTok skills? Is that how you got her?"

Luke flushed red up to his ears, but he couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled out. He shook his head, knocking Jack with his shoulder.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered, running a hand through his hair.

Jack was practically vibrating with glee, clapping Luke so hard on the back that he stumbled.

Nico, ever the team dad, gave Luke a nod. "Congratulations, Rusty. Seriously."

"Yeah," Siegs chimed in, grinning. "You're officially a hockey dad. Better start working on your minivan budget."

Laughter broke out around the room, guys elbowing each other, tossing chirps back and forth like it was any other day-- like Luke hadn't just dropped a nuclear bomb onto their normal lives.

But under all the jokes, Luke could feel the acceptance. No anger. No resentment. Just a weird, clumsy love. The only way hockey guys knew how to show it.

It was going to be okay. They had his back.

Back at the apartment, Sadie was curled up on the couch, Elisabeth dozing in a bassinet beside her, Sophia scrolling through baby clothes online.

Lu: They know. They're not mad. They're actually being kinda annoying abt it lol

Sadie stared at the screen, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Sophia looked over, saw the look on her best friend's face, and smirked.

"Told you," she said, nudging Sadie with her socked foot. "He's not going anywhere."

Sadie was curled up on the couch, one of Luke's hoodies swallowing her whole, bare legs tucked underneath her. Luke sat on the other end, close enough that their knees touched, hands fidgeting in his lap.

Elisabeth was finally asleep, bundled so tightly in her swaddle that she looked more like a burrito than a baby.

Sophia had left earlier, giving Sadie a pointed look and a mumbled excuse about "spending the night at Travis's place."

Sadie knew she was trying to give them space. She wasn't sure if she was grateful or terrified. Maybe a bit of both.

Luke cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "She's... cute when she's not screaming."

Sadie laughed. "Yeah. When she's quiet, I almost think I know what I'm doing."

He smiled, nervous. He rubbed the back of his neck the way he always did when he was anxious.

Sadie bit her lip, staring down at the worn throw blanket bunched up in her hands. She knew they couldn't avoid it any longer.

The conversation. The where do we go from here.

Luke leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, voice low.

"I'm sorry," he said, the words rough. "For everything. For not protecting you better. For putting your job at risk. For... everything I guess."

Sadie opened her mouth to argue, to tell him it wasn't his fault, but he shook his head before she could.

"No. Just let me say it," Luke said. "You didn't ask for this. You didn't plan any of this. And you still handled it better than I ever could've."

Sadie blinked hard, tears burning behind her eyes.

Luke kept going, voice cracking at the edges.

"I don't expect anything, Sadie. I don't want to trap you into something you don't want. I just... I want to be here. For you. For her. Whatever you need."

Sadie stared at him.

At this boy, who was still so young but somehow had already given her more than most people twice his age ever would.

She closed her eyes, inhaling sharply.

"I'm scared, Luke," she whispered. "Like really scared, all the time."

He didn't flinch. He carefully shifted closer, like if he moved too fast, she'd run away.

"I'm scared too."

Sadie opened her eyes. Met his.

She saw it in his eyes, the fear. But also hope.

Stupid, stubborn hope.

She let out a shaky breath, her voice barely audible.

"I don't know what the future looks like. But I want you in it."

Luke's face crumpled for a second, before he reached out and pulled her into him.

The kiss wasn't frantic or desperate. It was slow, taking their time to show their love for each other. It was a promise. A beginning.

Later, they lay tangled on the couch, the TV playing quietly in the background. Elisabeth snuffled in her sleep, her tiny fists twisting inside the swaddle.

Luke's hand found Sadie's, tracing slow patterns along her knuckles. He murmured nonsense about baby clothes and daycare options and future trips they could take together.

Sadie just listened, her heart so full it ached.

For the first time in forever, she let herself believe it. Believe in him, them, their future.

She closed her eyes, pressing her forehead to Luke's shoulder, feeling the beat of his heart against her cheek. It wasn't the life she had planned. But it was one she was starting to see work out for her.

#nhl imagine #nhl fic #hockey imagine #hockey fic #luke hughes #luke hughes imagine

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babydoll372 · 3 days ago

Text

Pleasure

Pairings: older!natasha romanoff x younger!reader (nat is around her late thirties, early forties, r is early 20’s)

Word count: 2223

Warnings: age gap relationship, r is honestly cringe blame that on me alone, sexual insecurities, age gap insecurities, oral (r receiving), r is a virgin, mentions of scissoring, inexperienced!r

Natasha sighed in relief as she closed her laptop, clocking out of her shift and rushing to leave the office before her boss could dive into a long conversation with her. She got into her car and waited for it to warm up, shivering a bit at first and grabbing her phone to call you. She smiled as she saw your face appear on the screen as she started pulling out of the parking lot.

“Hello, my beautiful girl..how was your day?” She glanced over and saw you shrug a bit as you stirred a spoon, she was guessing you were cooking her dinner for when she’d be home.

“Y/N? Is everything okay?” She asked with more worry this time, and you couldn’t help but bite your lip as you stared upon her beautiful, chiseled jawline.

“I’m okay..uhm, how was work?”

“Eh, it was the same as usual. How was your doctor's appointment today? Everything go okay?” Today you had to see your primary care physician for a regular checkup, but it ended up going in a different direction. You nervously released the fact that you were not sexually active, even though you showed your doctor photos of you and Natasha earlier in the appointment. She didn’t question obviously, knowing many different reasons could be of cause, and wrote down what you told her. However, when you explained some worries to her was when she brought it up.

“So you can’t reach an orgasm with masturbation, why not try with your partner? I don’t know if you are waiting until marriage or what not-“

“Oh, no, no, definitely not planning to wait until marriage..I’m just, you know, a bit scared. It’ll obviously, uh..be the first so I’m just worried I’ll embarrass her and myself by feeling absolutely nothing.” The woman chuckled and placed a hand on your knee, patting it gently.

“I personally, and professionally, don’t think you have anything to be afraid of. It will be hard at first to adjust to, it’s definitely uncomfortable having another person see you so intimately and insight different physical reactions, but actually making love is so much different than masturbating, my dear. And I know it’s uncomfortable to hear or talk about, but you don’t need to fear it. I am sure that when the time comes you will be quite pleased, and so will your partner, and if not then I can refer you to a gynecologist and we can go from there, alright?” You nodded at her reassuring words, fiddling with your hands to ease your nerves as now the idea was imprinted into your mind for the rest of the physical. Maybe you really were just inexperienced and couldn’t bring yourself to experience an orgasm, but maybe she would? She had been with multiple women in her years, you zero, considering your age gap, but what if she didn’t enjoy it with you?

“It was fine..uhm, I- I was hoping to talk to you when you’re home about something.” You said, blurting it out before you would forcefully hold it in any longer. It had already felt like years keeping it in for ten hours.

“You don’t want to talk now? Is it serious?”

“I would just prefer talking at home, is that okay?” Once again, Natasha glanced at the camera with worry, trying to read your face in a quick few seconds before looking back at the road.

“Of course it’s okay..I’ll see you at home then?” Usually the call on her way home lasted the entire ride, but you both could feel the heavy tension and knew it needed to end there. You said your goodbyes and about fifteen minutes later, she came home and you greeted her at the door with a kiss. You walked her into the dining room where you had dim lighting and a candle lit on the table. The table was always up against the window looking out to the city, and now it looked even more romantic since it was dark out, and the only lights illuminating the sky were from the homes of other people living their own lives. Along with the candle were two plates of steak and potatoes, making Natasha’s eyebrows raise. Steaks weren’t something you two could afford often, clearly this was an important night.

“Wow, this must be something really important you need to discuss, huh?” She joked, sitting down across from you as you didn’t even laugh. You just bit your lip anxiously as you started to cut your own steak. Usually, Nat would cut your food for you, whether it was meat, pancakes, desserts, or anything else, she’d be the one doing it for you while you happily awaited.

“You sure you don’t want me to cut that for you, baby?”

“I’m okay, I’m not a baby, y’know.” You chuckled, only making her tick her head to the side in worry again.

“I know you’re not a baby, I just like doing things for you. I’m sorry if it came off that way..are you sure you’re okay?” She tried to calmly speak, not wanting to cause an argument of any kind but also getting a bit frustrated at your inability to communicate your problem with her.

“I-…I just don’t want you to think of me as some child, I’m a grown woman and I don’t need anybody to do things for me. And just because you’re older or have slept with loads of women doesn’t mean I’m some incompetent- thing!”

“Woah, woah, woah, what is going on? Why are you treating me like I’m some whore who’s slept with hundreds of women? And why are you suddenly so worried about this?”

“Because I want to have sex with you! And I- I want to be comparable to the, I don’t know, supermodels you’ve been with! And I don’t want you to think you can’t make a move just because I’m younger or because you cut my steak for me..” Natasha covered her lips to hide a chuckle at your obviously wrong guessing, and quickly put on a face of care when you were looking.

“Y/N, that is completely inaccurate! First off, the very few women I’ve slept with were nowhere near supermodels. Second off, you have no idea how badly I want to have sex with you! I have been holding back since we got together because I respect you, not because I don’t find you desirable or hot, it’s just because I’m not going to push you into anything. I do not think you are too young for me to have sex with…and I wish you would’ve come to me sooner about this, sweetheart..” She said as she kissed the back of your hands, smiling at you as you slowly cracked a grin, realizing how foolish you sounded.

“I’m sorry- gosh I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to be so rude, I don’t think you’re a whore at all! I think you’re awesome and the best girlfriend I could ever ask for..who I really hope will still accept my offer to have sex with me for the first time..tonight?” Natasha smiled wide, staring into your eyes as if they were never ending. She nodded as she verbally agreed, and you blew out a breath. You slowly pulled your hands back from her and went to finish your steak so that you two could start soon, however, Nat had different plans. She stood up abruptly and went to your side of the table, turning your chair around to face her and effortlessly lifting you so your legs wrapped around her waist, and her hands were placed on your butt as she teasingly squeezed it. She kissed you repeatedly along the way, having to stop back at the table after your insisting of blowing out the candle, and once you did, she just went for your neck. Any open area of skin she was following with her lips, sometimes leaving small purple marks in its wake. Once she got to the bedroom, she comfortably laid you on the bed and stared down at you, grinning from ear to ear.

“You’re so fucking beautiful, you know that?” You bit your lip as your cheeks tinted a deep shade of red, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away. “I am the luckiest woman on this very planet, my love..and I am never letting you go. I am going to make love to you today and every single day after that you let me, because I cannot get enough of you, my beloved..” She leaned down to kiss you passionately before her hands trailed down to your hips, teasing your waistband. She trailed her lips to your chest until you nodded, allowing her to remove your shirt. She grinned, teasing her tongue around the soft, supple plush that was your skin, and sucking softly on your nipples, one and then the other. Your fingers found her hair as your raked through it, humming softly. You felt an ounce of panic rise when you thought back to what you told your physician and how you truly had never felt much pleasure, and you were worried this would be the same. You felt a limited amount of lust from her actions, but you felt loving pleasure.

“Nat..?”

“Hm?” She kept her lips wrapped around her desired object, looking up at you from your chest.

“Do you think you could try, like..rubbing me a bit? Or something like that..please and thank you.” She slowly pulled away from your chest, planning to go back as she grabbed a hair tie from the bedside table and put her long red hair in a bun. She used two fingers to gently caress your clit through your shorts, her free hand on your thigh rubbing soft circles.

“Tell me how that feels, sweetheart. Do you want me to move your shorts aside?”

“May you please? I- it feels close to good but not quite there..“ She nodded, understanding the difficulty you might have for your first time and she pulled the shorts over a bit to reveal your well tailored cunt. You fiddled with your fingers as you watched her face for her reaction.

“You look gorgeous, my love. But you don’t ever need to change a thing for me, okay?” You nodded, biting your lip as you felt her wet fingers draw circles over your clit. She focused on how much pleasure she was bringing you, her free hand moving to your breasts as she fondled them softly, tweaking your nipples playfully. After the same movements and eventually a slightly quicker pace, she wanted to go further.

“Is it alright if I use my mouth now?” She could see your hesitancy and how your legs instinctively closed an inch at the thought of her so close. “It’s alright if you don’t want me to, I just want to make you feel good, this is about you tonight.”

“You-..you can use your mouth, yeah..” She didn’t waste much time and put her hands on your thighs to hold them in place, bringing her tongue to your clit as she followed similar patterns from her fingers. She hummed at the taste of you, making you moan quietly as you gripped onto her hair. You could feel your legs shaking a little bit as you tightened them around her, and she only quickened the pace of her tongue. She rode off of your whimpers, both the quiet and loud, and she watched as your upper body heaved up and down the quicker she went. Her jaw started to ache, but she wasn’t finding it in her to care as she drowned out the pain and focused on your confused pleasure. It didn’t come in a matter of seconds, nor only a few minutes, but she continued until she heard the words she had been desperate to hear.

“Nat-! I- fuck, I think I’m gonna-“ She pulled away for mere milliseconds to respond, not wanting to waste a single moment away from your delicious juices.

“Cum for me- do it for me, baby!” She moaned loudly into your desperate heat as your legs shook even quicker and tightened even further, your body unraveling as you let yourself slip. Your eyes shot wide open as you stared at the ceiling, your orgasmic state washing over you intensely as you clung tightly to the back of your older girlfriends head while you muttered ‘fuck’ over and over under your breath.

She eased you out of your high by delivering slow licks to the sensitive bud until you were whining for her to stop. She slowly got up and removed her underwear before settling in front of you.

“Take all the time you need, there’s no rush..but once you’re ready, I want to teach you something.” She took your hands in her own, kissing them softly as you looked up at her, still in a completely disheveled state.

“What do you want to try?”

“You might’ve heard of it before, it’s called scissoring.” She grinned at the thought alone and ran her hands up and down your thighs, humming at the feeling of your soft skin as she could only imagine what it’d feel like rubbing against hers.

#natasha romanoff x gender neutral reader #natasha romanoff x female #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff smut #natasha romanoff #Natasha romanoff x reader smut #natasha x reader #natasha romanov

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bonbonly · 3 days ago

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bon's thoughts a/n" oh look at that, its not 18+ hehehe, but I've been thinking about my temptation!au for so long now I can't get it out of my head but hehe new au alert!

chapter priest!charles leclerc finding out that pope!lewis resigned from his position, wanting to experience the world without the shackles of the church binding his soul forever in one place and now the young monegasque man secretly yearns to find himself in a similar position, to take his son with him and venture through every land just to find you again. To apologize, to make up for the horrible man that he was.

yet, the knowledge that bishop!max would most likely become the next pope burdens charles with the reality that he cannot leave the faith he had once loved. not when the dutch man knew so much about charles' past and the caged dove: you.

so he has to be careful, has to abide by the rules and pretend that his soul is getting cleansed each sunday while he turns to the holy cross and begs for a kinder path back to you, the woman he forgot to cherish and adorn with all his love. what was the lesson here for him to learn? that life without you was nothing more than hell, that he should never feel the true love of a woman till the day he dies? his poor son leo would clutch to his robes as he slowly began to learn how to crawl and all charles could do was feel the ghost of your presence besides him.

chaplain!carlos had slowly begun to observe the odd shift in behavior of his friend. charles was not the same man as he was 2 years ago. he was different - as if the entire world weighed upon his shoulders. and he clung to that orphaned boy as if it was his own son! strange, all of it was strange. he'd hear charles in his cell late at night weeping, the coos of the baby loud and clear. chaplain!pierre would rush forward to console the child and as carlos would try to help charles, the latter would shut him out with a snarl, urging him to mind his own business and leave him to "pay the price for his sins" - whatever that meant.

chaplain!carlos watched as archdeacon!vasseur whispered to charles that he would put in good word for the new pope to promote the young man to a bishop, to which charles merely snorted and replied, "i would be surprised if he would ever do such a thing, he speaks lies and his heart is filled with malice..."

what was he even saying? this was not the sweet charles who would be very careful of what he would say to others, the only words that would fall out of his mouth were the verses from the lord. not to mention the growing envy in carlos' heart; he had been working diligently in the chapel for so long but received no news from the archdeacon or the other bishops of his promotion to chapter priest. and yet here this spoiled man was being pushed to be a bishop and soon one day become pope! he had to get to the bottom of this, he'd need to understand what this church was hiding from him - most importantly, what charles was hiding.

and as charles stood there with his hands folded in prayer before the cross, he knew he would be scrutinized by his peers if the truth of his actions came forward. but even through these countless prayers and service, his mind kept drifting back to you. he wondered if you ever thought about him, or your son. if you ever dreamed of seeing leo grow up, the young boy had your eyes anyway. he would often whisper your name in prayers, as if it was a satanic chant that would lead him to damnation but he already felt as if he was rotting in his own personal hell anyway so what did it matter?

chaplain!carlos watched from afar, a scowl on his face. he'd get to the bottom of this, one way or another...

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olderthannetfic · 3 days ago

Note

Saw a monetized fanart vs fanfic discussion out in the wild again and it reminded me of this theory I had. It wasn't that fandom artists were given a pass to monetize in a way that fandom writers weren't, it's that professional (and pro-to-be) artists co-opted fandom communities a few years back.

I used to aim for a studio-based illustration career, so I kept up to date on community discussions, watched every free "lesson" I could, made plans to build up a portfolio, etc. The amount of times I heard pro artists (employed at Disney, Sony, AAA studios, etc.) say that nowadays it's a good idea to include fanart in your portfolio was shocking at first, but genuinely everybody that was anybody was saying it. And of course it was another way to game the social media algorithm. I've listened to artists talk seriously about posting fanart to "bait" an audience into following them, intersperse it with original work, then post fanart again to keep people's attention. It was an entire thing.

And then of course you got the success stories. "I posted fanart of Miles Morales that got 100k likes on insta, and then I got a job offer to work on the next Spiderverse movie." In fact, people knew that art directors/hiring managers/whoever sends out the emails regularly browse their IP tags online for fanart AND in-person conventions to look for the next possible hire. Yes, even if they also periodically send cease and desists. I heard a funny story of a guy that got a takedown notice AND a job offer from the same company on the same day.

Obviously not every fan artist is doing this for the exact same reasons, and tbh there's a lot of artists coming up now that arrived at an art scene that to them has always been like this, so they just kind of do the same motions their art idols are doing without thinking to deeply about the why. I think the actual big shift happened when we all got blended together in the same social media sites, and the pro artists (that used to be VEHEMENTLY anti-fanart btw, I forgot to mention that) noticed the kind of reach and networking power appealing to an active and passionate community brought them. I could go on, but that's my main thought. Thanks for the soapbox lol.

My knowledge of fan art history is spotty compared to what I know about fic or vids because I've usually avoided the big art hangouts like DeviantArt due to not liking the culture.

What I do know is that there have been a number of these shifts, and there are a bunch of different factors contributing to this cultural divide. I've been told, for example, that a lot of Marvel and DC artists from decades ago paid the bills by selling other art of the characters that wasn't part of their official jobs (prints of portraits of a character they also drew for comics, etc.). It was a consequence of their shitty pay from the actual comics companies, and so the companies generally turned a blind eye.

There was also a pretty permeable membrane between pro sff artists of ye olde con culture and amateur ones, just like writers and others at those cons weren't really separate. The biggest pro name and the newest nobody were distinct, but it's more of a sliding scale between those than separate categories.

The chance to go viral in a way that Hollywood types can see on twitter/instagram/tiktok/etc. has definitely had a massive cultural impact though, and I doubt it's often a positive one.

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girlfriendsofthegalaxy · 1 day ago

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tuesday again 4/29/2025

made one of the best thrift store purchases of my life this week

listening

mental health watch: new mother mother single out and i have had that shit on loop basically all week. i would describe their (alt rock for chronically depressed girls resistant to most treatments) overall sound as “slippery”, but this song is slippery in the way the seaweed in miso soup is slippery. hope that makes sense. i heard the lyric “head shaker” as “exchequer” and this exact wording was stuck in my head for basically an entire shift at work.

reading

still having a tremendous amount of fun with Charlaine Harris’ Gunnie Rose series. just finished the third one, i think whenever you can get away with a character that you can genuinely and seriously call “the tsarina of all the californias” you should push that as far as it can possibly go and she does!!! it is so refreshing to read a book by an author who knows what they’re doing. who knows how to write and pace a longer series and who knows how to effectively play with dramatic tension. the bar is So low but i have been wrestling through these horrible lesbian novels and (new for me) trying to take three or four of the little scifi paperbacks ive been hoarding to work every week to stash in my desk to read when it’s slow. all of them have been bad so far. like gang rape page two bad :/ love scifi the best and worst genre

yet another frustrating week in the lesbian mines. finally finished Flight Risk by Kim Baldwin and i do not think i can fairly review it, bc i tried to read it at work in tiny tiny chunks over too long a period of time (two weeks) and got really frustrated with it bc i forgot something that happened in the first chapter. im sure its a perfectly fine book if u read it in fewer sittings but now it is like. contaminated by several unpleasant work shifts and i simply don’t want to look at it any more. also they fucked in the literal last five pages which i find tremendously annoying.

Second You Sin by Scott Sherman (also mid-aughts) is about a nyc callboy (gay) who keeps accidentally stumbling into murder mysteries. i could easily image every line of dialogue by every gay character delivered by ru paul so it was not a book for me.

and then by far the most annoying book, Change of Heart by Linda Hill (1999 published by my worstie Naiad) bc it does not read like the author has ever been in any sort of relationship. even though she is married. to another woman. it’s hard for me to review this one fairly too due to my own massachusetts experiences.

At the age of 38, British supermodel Julia Westgate watches in panic as her career begins to decline -- and she realizes she is truly alone in the world. Deeply closeted, Julia has always limited her encounters with women to secret trysts and one or two night stands. While on a shoot in Boston, Julia carefully disguises herself so she won't be recognized, then sneaks out to a secluded lesbian bar. There she meets local journalist Cory Hayes, who is celebrating the publication of a hard won story. After spending a passionate weekend with Julia, Cory is devastated when she wakes up to an empty bed.

(ed note: they do nothing more than kiss in the entire book. it’s truly debatable if there was even tongue or not)

Weeks later in a supermarket check-out line, Cory's jaw drops when she sees an exquisite face on the cover of a fashion magazine -- a face that looks more than vaguely familiar. Thus begins an all-consuming game of hide-and-seek, with Julia trying to run from herself and her uncertain future -- and Cory willing to risk everything to find her.

(ed note: cory does some light snooping to discover her last name, makes some phone calls for a single afternoon, and then comes across her completely by accident almost a year later).

this book takes uhauling to new heights bc they adopt a special needs puppy the first and only weekend they spend together, wherein they don’t even fuck and Julia flees into the early morning without saying goodbye, leaving a note, and leaving most of her stuff behind. i know why Cory cant stop thinking about Jules nearly a year on (leaving without goodbye in the middle of the night and leaving almost all your stuff behind is objectively bonkers) but i have no idea why Jules is so into Cory. or what either of them see in each other. or really why they’re into each other at all. bc again. they do not do more than kiss the entire book and most of the book is them feeling kind of weird about this singular weekend. NOT that you have to fuck someone to know how to feel about them but my goodness! sometimes it certainly helps!

it is perfectly tailored to piss me all the way off bc Cory asks for a raise bc she impulsively adopted a puppy, and her boss not only gives her a raise and a promotion but also heavily subsidizes her new house she rents. which he owns. which was so far from MY massachusetts job/housing experience we might as well have lived on different planets. however this book really does nicely capture the complete unwillingness of the massachusetts wlw scene to like. do anything more than talk shit about a kind of weird date you were on once.

would have loved to read more of a May/December romance about an aging supermodel and would have loved to read more about the worries and fears of someone aging who hasn’t really put down roots or formed many friendships at all in her life or really interacted much with the queer community at large, but the age gap in actuality is quite small and Jules is mostly exotically British and worried about facial wrinkles.

deeply annoying experience that could not be written today in a post-MTV’s Catfish world

watching

fallow week

playing

woe woe unending woe in genshin. genuinely really annoyed that i pulled for Varesa (girl who is a cow) in bc guess who’s coming back in about a month? that’s right, yae miko. the only other character i desperately want. and she’s going to be on a specific banner that does not build pity for any other banner. and i don’t even have quite enough pulls for halfway to guaranteeing her. however. buying enough in-game currency to guarantee her would be about $120. which is simply goofy. she will come back around eventually, probably in a year and a half, and i will survive. i don’t even want her for team building or combat purposes. i just think she’s got a cool design and i want a matched set of her (pink) and her wife, the shogun (purple).

making

one million small mending projects, including reinforcing the spine of some dorling kindersley BIG BOOK OF TRUCKS and BIG BOOK OF PLANES books for my bestie’s son’s birthday. no pics bc they were wrapped POSTHASTE!!!

also varied and assorted mending of clothes. managed to rip the casing for some pajama pants through brute strength and getting snagged on a kitchen cabinet knob, kind of half assed a ladder stitch, thought “that’s not going to hold” and then did a less half assed heavily overlapping cross stitch to reinforce (esp around the buttonhole opening for the drawstring) and then slathered it in fraychek.

likewise, my favorite obnoxious shirt had a rip up the side seam. carefully stitched it back up, blanket stitched the raw edge for a little more reinforcement without too much bulk, and slathered it in fraychek. u can see a much older repair there when it ripped horizontally from getting stuck in a filing cabinet drawer at umass lol.

and finally, some horrible shorts that were not adequate enough for my thighs, so i took the discreet one inch side vent and really opened that up to the bottom of the pocket seam. very annoying and fussy to match the topstitching and do two bar tacks by hand. the fit on the shorts is still not quite where i want them to be but they are at least wearable outside now. no fraychek here they’re nylon and got melted with a lighter as god intended.

#tuesday again #tuesday again no problem

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horsechestnut · 19 hours ago

Note

No pressure, but for the ask game, suggesting Steph brown for the character and dealers choice for what kind of hc!!!

Yes! My girl!!!

Realistic: Sees Barbara as her boss over Bruce. Like, yeah, most of the time she'll listen to Batman's instructions, but she defaults to Oracle. Batman is like, the manager at a different location of the same restaurant chain, if he's around you listen to him because he's technically above you, but he's not the one you report to. Oracle's who she submits reports to, gets patrols routes from, tells if she needs a night off, all of that kind of stuff because everyone has agreed it's better for team moral when Bruce is not her direct supervisor.

Funny (to me): The reason she teamed up with Penguin during Gotham Underground is because she was on her own Red Hood arc, but when she found out Black Mask was already dead she went "Oh. Actually I'm good then." and went back to business as usual instead.

Heart-Breaking: After what happened with Black Mask, Steph hates pet names. Sweetie, Honey, Darling, Baby, they're all out. The first time her mom calls her "sweetheart" after she gets back to Gotham she has such a bad reaction that Crystal has to call out of work to stay home and make sure she's okay. With time it gets better, Steph can hear the words without breaking down, but she's still not comfortable being refereed to that way anymore. She'll never be able to hear them without thinking of him.

I Do What I Want: I've said it before and I'll say it again, but Steph does not become a nurse. I do think she goes to school planning to pursue nursing, but then sometime in her sophomore or junior year she starts second guessing everything and wondering if she's only doing it because of her mom and/or Leslie. She has a crisis about this for a few weeks where she spirals and debates dropping out of school entirely, at the end of which she shifts her focus to physiology. Ultimately she ends up as a child physiologist (I have more thoughts on this, but that could be a whole post on it's own).

Post Found Here!

#thank you for the ask this was very exciting #also I should say i haven't read Batgirls 2022 yet #so i don't know how the batgirls operate in it and it's possible that my realistic headcanon about Barbara is literally just canon #but form what i've read it isn't so I'm including it #stephanie brown #batfam #batfamily #robin iv #batgirl iii #spoiler

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thesleepyfable · 3 days ago

Text

~ SWTD: Still Here AU Season 2 Part 20: ~

Time to go Home:

And here we are. The finale. I just want to thank everyone who has been with me on this journey and watched a few chapters turn into a major project, and I hope you stick around for other projects in the future.

'I need the doctor!' Addairs voice boomed down the corridor, rattling the windows and ceiling tiles. 'Where's the doctor?!' Everyone turned and looked. 'My son's awake.'

'Alright, Tommy,' the doctor said with the nurse jotting down notes beside him. Other nurses awkwardly moved past Addair as they wheeled out the equipment. 'Good to have you back.'

Tommy's eyes flickered around the room, rapidly blinking as he tried to control his breathing. 'What happened?'

'Can you tell me what happened?'

'There...' He paused, his attention shifting to his hand, where he closed and opened a fist.

'How about you tell your dad?'

Addair lingered in the corner of the room by the window. He felt small. Agitated. Nervous. And that made an impatient mix that swirled in his stomach. One moment, he wanted the doctor and nurses to leave. The next, he wanted to ask them a million questions about Tommy's health. He could tell his son wasn't acting normal, but he had to remember he's been asleep for over a month. But with all the change he's experienced, Addair wanted it to stop.

Slowly, he approached, keeping low to not frighten his son. Tommy turned to him, still with not much of a reaction to his appearance.

'Dad?' His voice was broken. The doctor said that was normal when you've had a tube shoved down your throat, preventing fluids drowning you from the stomach.

'H-hey, Tommy. How are you feeling?'

'Tired.'

'What?' Addair snorted a small laugh. 'You should be wide awake after your nap.' Tommy weakly laughed along before trying to sit up. He felt the scar across his head, tugging at his skin and went to touch it, until Addair leaned over and took his hand. 'Tommy. Can you tell me what happened?' His tone was firm, but there was also a sense of desperation, too. Tommy gave himself a moment to think before silently nodding.

'I remember getting on my bike and going to the shop,' he began. 'I got sweets, and when I went left, I just felt the car hit me, and now here I am.'

'That's good...'

'Hey, dad.'

'Yeah?'

'Why do you look like that?'

Addair chuckled. 'It's a long story.'

'Will you go back to normal?'

'I don't think so.'

'Does mum know?'

'Oh, she knows alright. Nearly split the earth in two when she saw me.'

'Yeah, that sounds about right.' They shared a small laugh, almost forgetting about the doctor until he spoke over them.

'Now, Tommy. We need to talk about your recovery. But first, how about we get you out of bed?'

Despite Addair's screams throughout the corridor, everyone else from Beria was waiting outside, trying to find a new way to pass the time. Roy tapped the pages of his diary, fully aware Caz was trying to read his terrible handwriting. Everyone was quiet. Rennick was off to the side with Ruby, who had been resting either on his head or in the nearby bushes that lined the carpark. Innes and Muir, for once, had no conversation. Gibbo and Trots were trying to read the morning paper, but it was clear they were looking at the pictures or a few words rather than the entire article.

'Oh, fuck me. This is taking forever,' Innes groaned.

No one replied. The crew said they would be here for Addair, but they all underestimated how long here would be. All worked long hours that required manual labour, followed by having active lives off the rig, so sitting down trying to find ways to entertain themselves was becoming harder each day.

Then, with perfect timing, the large entrance doors opened. They turned and saw a nurse guiding Tommy in a wheelchair towards the group with Addair following. His proud smile was rather unsettling to look at, but they smiled back.

'Everyone,' Addair said. 'This is Tommy.'

The boy was stunned to see Muir, Rennick, and Gibbo. Trots still hid his infection under a blanket. He stared with wide eyes and a loose jaw. He wasn't scared, just trying, like everyone, to find logic in what happened to them. 'This is weird...' was all he could muster.

'Ah, they're harmless, trust me,' Caz joked. 'Happy to be awake?'

'Yeah...' But Tommy's mind was elsewhere. 'So, what happened to you lot?'

'Well...'

'No, I'm telling my son the story,' Addair boasted.

'Oh, please. I'm the much better person to narrate this.'

'You're not infected.'

'Technically, I am.'

'Are you going to start from when I fired you?' Rennick laughed, poking Caz in the kidney.

'No, I was going to start where Gibbo slapped you in the face twice.'

'Good times,' Gibbo mused.

'Better than Innes getting dragged away by Muir?'

'It was a happy ending,' Muir interjected.

'Oh, aye. Just made me shit myself,' Innes said with a deadpanned tone.

Tommy weakly smiled at the argument unfolding in front of him until Trots caught his attention.

'How about we get you a drink away from these clowns?'

'Sure...'

Caz sat at the outdoor seating for the cafe. He watched Addair and his son, allowing his coffee to go cold and a fly to take interest in his chicken sandwich. Roy sat opposite him, jotting in his final entry for the visit with a cigarette loosely hanging between his lips. 'You allowed to smoke here?'

'I'm not in an operating room.' Roy crossed the t's and dotted the i's, and closed the diary. 'That's the shortest entry I've written.'

'You should continue when we get home.'

'Maybe. Be boring compared to this.'

A cry and joy caught their attention. Turning, they saw Jennifer, Elliot, Richard, and George run up to Tommy, nearly knocking him back from the hug they pulled him into. Jennifer was clearly crying. Elliot screamed with excitement. Caz and Roy smiled.

'Ready to go home?' Roy asked.

'Fucking hell, yes I am. I don't want to leave the flat again after this.' Caz knew this wasn't the end. Being a 'lighthouse,' meant he will always have a connection with the crew. He couldn't leave them for too long, which had him thinking for a while now. Or since he learned he can experience their memories and dreams. 'Maybe it's time we start over. You, me, Suze and the weans.' That caught Roy's attention. 'Move somewhere else and-'

'You mean Brearmer, don't you?'

'Maybe. Or somewhere away from Glasgow. It's the air, Roy. It's not doing my girls any good. And I cannae leave them for too long.'

'I'd like that. Would Suze?'

'Gonna have to talk to her first, but I think she would.' Another long conversation with a life changing decision was to be made. That can wait for now. Until then, Caz sat back, took a deep breath, and watched the clear sky.

It was time to go home...

#My Writing #Still Wakes the Deep #Still Wakes the Deep: Still Here AU

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inawickedlittletown · 3 days ago

Text

Dog Days (BuckTommy) 3/4

Summary: While on a call Buck and Hen get turned into dogs.

Words: 2.5k

Read on Ao3

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

“How’s Hen doing?” Chim asked.

Karen sighed. “Good. I mean, this is all kinds of weird. The kids are loving it though.”

“Did you tell them it’s Hen?”

Karen laughed. “No. Just that we were fostering a dog for a bit. I just know Denny is going to start asking us to get a dog again. Mara too. Have you checked up on Buck?”

“He’s with Tommy,” Chim said.

“And you didn’t tell Tommy that he’s looking after Buck?”

“Nope,” Chim said.

Maddie had been a little mad at him about that when she found out. She had been on the brink of demanding that Chim go and get Buck from Tommy, but Chim had talked her down from that. Tommy had been happy to take in Buck — Buddy — and Buck would have put up a fight if he didn’t want to be with Tommy. It was a win/win.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Chim said.

Karen chuckled. “Well, I gotta go take my wife out to the yard. This is so weird. Talk soon, Chim.”

He was just about to call Tommy, when Tommy sent him a text first. Dog Buck sitting in the passenger seat of his car. It really was no different than if it was human Buck. He had the same happy look on his face and twinkle in his eye that he’d had the entire time he was dating Tommy. He immediately sent it on to Karen.

Karen responded at once with a thumbs up and a picture of Hen sitting in the yard, her head tilted to the side.

Tommy took Buddy home and it felt so good to have even just a dog in the car with him. He really did think that after Buddy went home with his owners, he might visit one of the shelters and see if he found a dog to adopt. Tommy was used to being alone, but he hadn’t realized just how much he actually disliked it until Evan.

Even when Evan wasn’t there with him physically, Evan was a phone call or text away. He was having plans on his days off and he was having someone to call and talk to. Evan was a sweatshirt left on the back of a chair, a toothbrush to partner his own in the holder. He was a citrus scented body wash in the shower. He’d filled up all the holes in Tommy’s life and Tommy had thrown him away in some effort to protect himself. But being alone wasn’t better. It didn’t make him happy, not that Tommy had ever expected that. He had just thought at least he wouldn’t wind up with a broken heart. That had still happened, though.

“I’m going to be sad when I give you back to your owners, I hope you know that,” Tommy told the dog.

The dog gave him a sad look and then nudged his arm until Tommy pet him. That did feel better. A part of him wondered if maybe he could use Buddy as an excuse to call Evan. Maybe pretend that he needed help? It wasn’t like Evan didn’t already know about Tommy having the dog and…and it was a dumb idea. Evan didn’t want him like Tommy wanted him.

Yeah, he might come if Tommy called. But where would it lead? Another romp in the sheets or worse even further confirmation that Evan didn’t actually want to be with him? That Tommy had been right to walk away in the first place?

Buddy barked. He barked again.

“Sorry, bud,” Tommy said. “We should go in.”

Tommy didn’t bother with the leash and let Buddy follow him back to the house.

“You know, I do have to work tomorrow, so I don’t know what we’re going to do then. Maybe Howie can watch you or…or maybe I can call Evan? Assuming they’re not on shift. Otherwise…well, I don’t know if I can leave you here on your own for twenty-four hours. Suppose, I could bring you to work with me.”

Buddy barked at that.

“Oh, is that what you’d want? Last option. Not sure my Captain will agree.”

Having talked himself into it, after putting away Buddy’s food in the fridge and thinking about just pulling a frozen pizza out of the fridge for lunch, Tommy called Evan.

The phone rang and rang and rang and rang but no one answered.

Maybe he was at work on a call.

“Evan didn’t answer,” he informed Buddy. “You would have liked him. Everyone likes him. He’s just the sweetest guy you’d ever meet. Smart and funny, too. Has this amazing memory for facts. And he’s also kinda gorgeous. His smile. I miss his smile. I miss all of him.”

Buddy bumped his legs and he barked and barked.

“Do you need to go outside?” Tommy asked.

Buddy barked again, almost aggressively, and he didn’t move towards the door.

“Not outside?”

Buddy kinda nodded, but…no, dogs didn’t nod. Then he ran towards the living room and jumped on the couch.

“You want to watch tv?” Tommy asked, dubiously.

Buddy barked until Tommy sat down and then he made an attempt to climb into Tommy’s lap, but he was too big for it and wound up settling for just being half on Tommy. Tommy laughed and pet him for a while. Any lingering sadness he’d felt about Evan not picking up faded a bit. They sat like that for a while and Tommy had held some things in for so long that he just decided to let them out.

“It was my fault,” he told Buddie. “I got scared because I’m never the guy that anyone picks and I thought it would be a lot easier to just let him go before I could really get my heartbroken. Joke’s on me because it hurt anyway. It still does. I loved…no, I still love him. I’m in love with him and I ruined it and he doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore. So, in a way, dog, I think I was right. Given time, he’ll move on.”

Buddy whined and made a small woof sound that wasn’t quite a full bark. Tommy pet down his back.

“We broke up months ago, but when I saw him a few weeks ago I really thought I had a second chance. I almost did, but I guess…I guess he doesn’t feel the same way I do.”

Buddy whined again. He sort of turned his body a bit and Tommy was shocked to meet his eyes. They were so blue. Blue the exact shade of Evan’s eyes, though Tommy could just be seeing things. He reached to touch Buddy’s face, pushing back some curls. He had a scar over his eye, pink where fur was missing in the same place as Evan had his birthmark. Tommy shook off the thought. Coincidence.

“Anyway,” he said to Buddy. “That is why I’m going to end up alone and maybe adopt a dog. Or a cat. Or both. Pets gotta be better than people.”

Buddy pressed his nose to Tommy’s cheek. It was cold and wet and made him reel back which only made Buddy push closer this time licking his cheek. Tommy couldn’t help but laugh as Buddy went for another lick. Tommy let him and pet him. Dogs really were amazing creatures. When Buddy went for another lick, Tommy pushed him back.

“It was cute a couple of times, but now I’m all slobbery.”

Buddy didn’t try again.

After he finally got his frozen pizza in the oven and tried to convince himself that it wasn’t a pitiful meal, Tommy grabbed one of the treat bags he’d bought for Buddy and opened it. They’d gone to the treat bar and Tommy had done his best to let Buddy pick out what he liked.

“I think all the emotional support you’ve given me definitely deserves a treat.”

Buddy sat and waited until Tommy showed him the treat. He took it from Tommy and just held it in his teeth.

“Well, try it?”

Buddy chewed once, breaking it apart into pieces that fell to the floor. He kept chewing and seemed surprised at how much he liked it. Leaving him to it, Tommy pulled out his phone and texted Chim.

Tommy: Hey, I have a twenty-four tomorrow. I don’t want to leave Buddy on his own for that long. Before I ask my Cap if I can bring him to the station, is anyone else available to watch him?

The response came while Tommy was in the middle of eating.

Howie: We’re on shift too, but Karen can take him.

“Well, Buddy, you’re going to be spending the day with Karen. Plus, she and Hen have kids so you’ll have someone to play with.”

Buddy didn’t leave him alone for the rest of the day. If Tommy sat down on the couch, he could count on Buddy to climb into his lap. It wasn’t the worst thing even when Buddy eventually fell asleep on Tommy, taking little huffy breaths every once in a while.

In the end, the dog food wasn’t that bad. It actually had a lot of flavor and Buck didn’t hate it. Tommy did give him a few pieces of his pork chop while he was eating his dinner and afterwards Buck allowed Tommy to clip the leash to his collar so they could go on a walk. It was nice out and it made Buck remember all the walks that he and Tommy had taken back in those early days. They’d talked about so many things on those walks, but maybe not enough. Probably definitely not enough. Or rather, when one of those more sensitive things came up, they made a point of finding a way to make a joke or move on to something else.

Tommy didn’t seem to have that problem with Buck as Buddy. When they had found a bench where they could sit, he told him about how much he’d wanted a dog when he was a kid.

“But my father…just the thought that I’d be happy with something…well, it meant I never got to have a dog. Honestly, I didn’t really understand it all back when I was a kid, that resentment that he felt towards me. How I ruined his life by merely existing and existing as myself and not what he thought his son should be like.”

Tommy’s hand was petting him, buried in Buck’s fur and Buck loved how good it felt and hated how he couldn’t respond to Tommy by more than turning his head to give a lick to the closest bit of Tommy he could find.

“I have no idea where he is or what he’s up to,” Tommy said. “Haven’t had contact since I left for the Army. For the better I think.”

They continued on their walk and Buck did take a pee against a tree somewhat reluctantly. They passed a couple with their own dog that sniffed at Buck, luckily not at his butt, and Buck moved away before the other dog could get that idea.

“Shy, is he?” the woman holding the leash asked.

“I guess so,” Tommy said with a laugh.

They looked after the couple and the dog as they walked away. They were holding hands and talking together. Laughing.

“I miss it,” Tommy said. “I miss him. Evan.”

Buck whined.

“Come on, let’s head back.”

Back at the house, Tommy put on a movie and Buck tried his best to climb onto his back. The movie was some kind of romantic comedy that Buck wouldn’t have been interested in as a human and certainly wasn’t interested as a dog.

“When I met Evan, I think the world stopped turning and I had this expectation that of course he was too good to be true. And then…then we somehow got together and it was so good. Better than anyone else I’ve ever been with. He’s better than anyone. Of course, I had to ruin it because I was…I guess, Buddy, I was scared because I’m the first guy he ever dated and it was easier to imagine how it could all fall apart and leave me hurt than the idea that it could all somehow work out. I mean, I don’t think I was wrong. He pretty much told me so, you know? How he can sleep with people without having feelings for them. For me.”

Buck sat up and barked at Tommy, getting right in his face. Tommy frowned at him.

“Are you alright? Anything wrong?”

Buck barked again and then licked his cheek and leaned his head on Tommy’s shoulder. How could he have let Tommy think that? Buck heard himself let out a whine and Tommy’s hands drifted over him, his voice worrying and questioning if he was alright. He wasn’t, but it wasn’t Tommy that was at fault. Buck was. He would make up for this when he was human again.

—

Karen had a dog.

It was definitely a new addition considering Evan would have told him all about the Wilsons getting a dog back when they were together or even that night at the bar. Somehow, Tommy figured it would have come up. When Karen opened the door, the dog sat behind her and only just wiggled her tail. Buddy bumped clumsily past Karen to the dog and it was as if they knew each other.

“Uh,” Tommy said.

“What?”

“He was just kinda shy with a dog we met on a walk yesterday, but it’s a good thing he likes your dog. Did Denny talk you guys into it?”

Karen laughed awkwardly. “Something like that,” she said. “How are you Tommy?”

He shrugged his shoulders. He could admit that he’d been a little bit nervous about seeing Karen, but at least she wasn’t a member of the 118. Howie was different. He’d always been the one tether that Tommy still had to the 118 before he and Evan were a thing.

“Do you have time to come inside?”

“Not for long. I have a shift. Are you sure it’s okay for Buddy to stay here?”

Karen laughed. “Yeah, he’ll be fine. Has it been okay, looking after him?”

“He’s an odd dog,” Tommy admitted. “But, it’s been nice to not feel so lonely. Kinda makes me want to get a dog of my own, but not sure if that can work with my schedule unless my Captain lets me bring the dog to the station. So I’d probably need a puppy I can train up.”

Tommy got distracted by the dogs because they were kinda playing, bumping into each other and nudging each other a bit and barking. It was almost like…were they having a conversation? Tommy supposed that dogs probably did understand each other.

“I, uh, I should go. But text me if anything happens.”

Tommy looked at the dogs together. They were sat and there was something about seeing them together that made Tommy think about Hen and Evan, but he shook that thought off.

“Hey, Buddy, I’ll see you in about twenty-four hours. Be good for Karen.”

Buddy barked. So maybe he was getting attached which was not good in the situation he was in, when he was going to have to give Buddy to his owners.

#bucktommy #bucktommy fic #911 abc #911 fic #tevan #kinley #tommy kinard #evan buckley

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